Advisory on COVID-19 for businesses

We advise all businesses to refer to the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) websites for the latest updates.

To provide a safe environment for customers and workers, all businesses must continue to implement Safe Management Measures as required by the MOM and comply with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations.

To check if your business is allowed to operate physically onsite, please refer to covid.gobusiness.gov.sg/permittedlist.

All businesses must comply with the general requirements for Safe Management Measures, and any sector-specific requirements which apply to them. Strict checks will be conducted, and businesses that do not provide a safe workplace for workers will have their operations suspended until they are able to do so.

Collective Actions to Slow Community Transmission

From 8 September 2021, social gatherings and interactions at workplaces will no longer be allowed.

Businesses will also required to put in place work-from-home (WFH) requirement over a 14-day period should one or more of their workers be found to have contracted COVID-19 and have returned to their workplace. This means that everyone in the company who can WFH will be required to do so. Those who are working from home should minimise social gatherings and leave their homes only for essential activities during this 14-day period. More details will be released by MOM.

From 13 September 2021, the frequency of Fast and Easy Test (FET) Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) regime will be increased from once every fortnight to once a week.

The mandatory FET RRT will also be extended to those working in more settings with frequent community interactions. These include retail mall workers, supermarket staff, last-mile delivery personnel (including parcel and food delivery personnel), and public and private transport workers (taxi drivers, private hire car drivers and all public transport frontline staff). The Government will subsidise the costs of all tests under this enhanced surveillance regime, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, until the end of 2021. More details will be provided by the respective Government agencies.

From 16 Septemeber to 13 October 2021, firms with employees that work onsite and are not already subject to FET or any mandatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test regimes, will be eligible to voluntarily apply for eight Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits per onsite employee for weekly testing of their staff over a two-month period. With these kits, firms are to initiate weekly testing for their onsite staff. Businesses must put in place a process to ensure that the tests are done properly, and report the results to the respective Government Agencies. More information on this can be found here: www.gobusiness.gov.sg/timelimitedrrt/.

All businesses should encourage their employees to reduce non-essential social activities for the next two weeks and limit themselves to one social gathering a day.

Updates to Safe Management Measures (Announced 6 August)

Increase in Social Gathering Group Size

Group sizes for social gatherings will be increased to five persons and the cap of distinct visitors per household per day will also be increased to five. Unvaccinated individuals should remain in groups of no more than two persons, to reduce the likelihood of transmission and severe infection.

Updates on Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures and Eligibility

Fully-vaccinated individuals may participate, in groups up to five, in higher-risk activities where masks are removed. These activities include Food & Beverage (F&B) dine-in, personal care services and indoor high-intensity mask-off sports.

Individuals who are fully vaccinated with the World Health Organisation’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) vaccines such as Sinovac-CoronaVac, Sinopharm, and AstraZeneca will be eligible for the vaccination-differentiated Safe Management measures. An individual will be considered fully-vaccinated two weeks after he or she has received the full regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna, or any WHO EUL vaccines.

Unvaccinated individuals with a valid negative pre-event test result or recovered individuals are of similarly lower risk, and may also join in such groups of up to five.

From 20 August 2021, 2359 hours, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will issue a tamper-proof vaccination sticker to be affixed onto the passport of newly arrived travellers who were fully vaccinated overseas with a WHO-Emergency Use Listing (EUL) vaccine, and who can furnish a valid, English-language vaccination certificate. These travellers will be eligible for vaccination-differentiated Safe Management Measures if they produce their passport with the valid tamper-proof sticker affixed.

Resumption of Dining-in at F&B Establishments for Vaccinated Groups

Groups of up to five persons will be allowed to dine-in at F&B establishments if all the diners are fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated children aged 12 years and below may be included within the group of five persons as long as all the children are from the same household.

F&B establishments may only resume dine-in services for fully vaccinated persons as outlined above. F&B establishments that are not able to ensure this may only operate take-away and delivery services.

For hawker centres and coffee shops, groups of up to two persons (regardless of vaccination status) may dine in at these establishments.

Entertainment such as live performances, recorded music, and videos/TV screening continue to be prohibited. Patrons are reminded to adhere to Safe Management Measures and keep their masks on at all times except when eating or drinking.

Event sizes and capacity limits

The following event sizes and capacity limits will be increased. Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below may be included in a group of up to five persons if all the children are from the same household.

• Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) events, live performances, spectator sport events and cinemas: Event sizes can hold up to 1,000 persons if all are fully vaccinated. Otherwise, event sizes will be limited to 50 persons without pre-event testing (PET). Unmasking and singing or playing of wind instruments at live performances for vaccinated performers may resume, subject to updated Safe Management Measures to be released by the National Arts Council (NAC).
• Marriage solemnisations and wedding receptions: Marriage solemnisations in external venues (i.e. not in a place of residence or in the Registry of Marriages/Registry of Muslim Marriages building) can take place with up to 1,000 persons (including the wedding couple but excluding solemnisers and vendors) if all are fully vaccinated. Otherwise, these will be limited to 50 persons without PET. Wedding receptions will be allowed with up to 250 attendees if all are fully vaccinated, and with groups of up to five attendees per table.
• Attractions, cruises, museums, and public libraries: Operating capacity is increased to 50%.
• Shopping malls and showrooms: Occupancy limits for shopping malls and showrooms are increased to 10 sqm per person of Gross Floor Area.

Temperature screening in public places will no longer be a requirement.

“Vaccinate or Regular Test” Regime for Selected Sectors of the Workforce

Unvaccinated persons will be required to undergo regular testing to pick up possible infections early so that they can be treated early. This will also mitigate risk of transmission to their colleagues and the public.

The “vaccinate or regular test” regime will apply to the following groups from 1 October 2021:

• Individuals working in the healthcare sector, eldercare sector and settings with children 12 years and below;
• Individuals who interact with customers in higher-risk mask-off settings (e.g. F&B establishments, gyms and fitness studios, and personal care services), work at our borders or perform COVID-19 frontline work;
• Retail mall workers, workers in supermarket outlets, taxi and private hire care drivers, last mile delivery personnel, driving school instructors/private driving instructors, and public transport frontline staff;
• All individuals working in the Public Service.

For the full list of sectors subject to the “vaccinate or regular test” regime, please click here.

Any unvaccinated persons under the “vaccinate or regular test” regime will have to be tested with an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kit twice a week. For those who are medically ineligible for vaccines, the Government will subsidise their tests.

More details will be released by the respective agencies overseeing the sectors. We strongly encourage all employers to facilitate vaccination for your employees.

Mandatory Safe Management Measures

We have also released Safe Management Measures for the following sectors. If your business is among the following, please refer to the respective links for the relevant guidelines:

• Food & beverage (F&B) establishments
• Retail establishments and lifestyle-related services
• F&B and online retail delivery

Business Continuity Plans

All workplaces should update their business continuity plans (BCP), and stay prepared for any increase in community transmission. As the situation is evolving rapidly around the world, we encourage all companies to have their BCP in place.

We, supported by the Singapore Business Federation, have also enhanced the Business Continuity Guide for Enterprises to support you in developing your plans to deal with COVID-19.

Travel Advisory

Please review work-related travel plans and defer all travel abroad, with the exception of short-term essential business and official travel between selected counterpart countries/regions and Singapore under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL). More details on the RGL can be found here.

You may also find more details on relevant travel advisories/restrictions on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website.

All travellers arriving in Singapore, including residents (Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents) and Long-Term Pass holders (Student’s Pass, Dependent’s Pass, Work Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass Holders) must ensure they fulfil the relevant requirements by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). More details on this can be found here.

All travellers departing Singapore are advised to check the MFA website for the latest travel advisories to other countries/regions, and check with the immigration authority or embassy of the destination country/region on the relevant health requirements imposed on travellers from Singapore.

Precautionary Measures for General Employees

Please remind all employees who are unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, should see a doctor immediately. They should not go out into the public for any other purpose, and should not come into close contact with others.

Should you become aware that someone at your workplace is a confirmed or suspect case of COVID-19, you are advised to adopt these measures set out by MOM.

You should also carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of that section of the workplace premises exposed to confirmed case(s). Please refer to the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) guidelines for more details.

Regulations under the Infectious Disease Act

The MOH will be promulgating Regulations under the Infectious Diseases Act to give legal force to the Safe Distancing Measures, as well as to provide enhanced penalties for breaches of the SHN. The penalty for an offence under the Regulations, including any SHN breach, would be a fine of less than $10,000 or imprisonment of less than six months or both. In addition, existing levers under the Infectious Diseases Act, including the temporary suspension of operations, may be used against persons and operators found to be non-compliant with the Regulations.

Support for Businesses

The Government has introduced various support measures across different Budgets in response to COVID-19 to help companies and workers weather near-term uncertainties. The latest measures are outlined as follows:

• COVID-19 Resilience Package (Budget 2021)
• Jobs Support Scheme
• Food Delivery Booster Package
• E-Commerce Booster Package

ESG, together with other Government agencies, has launched initiatives and enhanced existing programmes to provide more support more businesses. For more information, please click here.

The Ministry of Law has introduced the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 to offer relief to businesses and individuals who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please click here.

As businesses seek to adjust to the changing operating environment, we strongly encourage employers to take a long-term view of their manpower needs. When managing excess manpower, retrenchment should always be the last resort, after other options have been considered and found to be unworkable.

If you have 10 or more employees and have implemented any cost-saving measures that affects your employees’ monthly salaries (including bonuses and increments) during this period, you are required to notify MOM through this online form – within 1 week after implementation. This temporary requirement is in place to encourage responsible implementation of such measures, prevent downstream salary disputes, and allow MOM to monitor the scope and scale of such measures. For more details, please refer to the MOM website.

The Government will continue to work together with tripartite partners to restructure our economy, build new enterprise capabilities, and upskill our workers for the future.

This advisory is based on information updated as of 18 September 2021.