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.

In settings run by permitted businesses, each group must be limited to two or fewer persons, with at least 1m spacing between groups. All activities remain subject to overall Safe Management Measures.

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.

On top of the above mandatory measures, to further safeguard the health of employees and customers, companies are advised to observe the additional Safe Management Measures:

• [Test] Place employees on regular testing using alternative tests
• [Trace] Manage COVID-19 cases proactively
• [Vaccinate] Encourage your workers to be vaccinated as soon as it’s made available to them
• Enforce mask discipline
• Avoid workplace gatherings
• Ventilate your workplace

Work-from-home remains the default arrangement. Employers must ensure that employees who are able to work from home do so. Employees unable to work from home due may continue work onsite but employers must ensure adequate Safe Management Measures are in place. These measures include the following:

• Companies should continue to stagger start times and implement flexible working hours;
• Restrictions against cross-deployment across workplaces remain in place;
• Social gatherings at the workplace will not be allowed;
• Meal breaks must be taken individually and at staggered times;
• Masks must be worn in the workplace at all times.

Gradual Re-opening to Phase 3 (Heightened Alert)

As part of a calibrated reopening, we will move to Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) in two steps:

From 14 June 2021

Permissible group sizes will be increased from two persons to five persons. All should continue to limit their overall number of social gatherings to not more than two per day.

The operating capacity of attractions, including the two cruise pilots, that have received MTI’s prior approval will be increased from the current capacity of 25% to 50%.

The maximum audience size for cinema screenings, MICE events and live performances (excluding those involving unmasking and singing/playing of wind instruments) will be increased to 250 attendees with pre-event testing (PET). PET will not be required for events with 50 or fewer attendees.

Personal care and appearance services which require masks to be removed (e.g. facials, saunas) will be allowed to resume.

From 21 June 2021 (if the situation remains under control)

Dining in at F&B establishments will be allowed to resume. As these are higher-risk settings, F&B establishments must ensure at least 1m safe distancing between groups of diners (no more than five). Enforcement will be significantly stepped up and firmer enforcement action will be taken for any breaches. Patrons are to be reminded to keep masks on at all times, except when eating or drinking.

Wedding receptions will be allowed to resume with up to 100 attendees, with PET required for all attendees. For wedding receptions up to 50 attendees, PET is required only for all members of the wedding party.

Live performances involving the unmasking and singing/playing of wind instruments for live performances will be allowed subject to Safe Management Measures. More details will be released by the National Arts Council.

Gyms and fitness studios may resume indoor mask-off sports activities, with safe distancing of at least 2m between persons and at least 3m between groups of up to five persons. Sports classes (both indoors and outdoors) will be capped at 30 persons (including the instructor) comprised of groups of no more than five persons.

The Government will extend the current enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for affected sectors until 20 June. From 21 to 30 June, affected sectors will receive 10% JSS support.

Regular Fast and Easy Testing (FET) Regime for Staff Involved in Higher-Risk Mask-Off Activities

Staff who work at settings with unmasked clients and patrons will be placed on a FET regime, using tests such as an antigen rapid test, regardless of their vaccination status. These include staff of:

• Dine-in F&B establishments
• Personal care services that require removal of masks (e.g. facial services, saunas, make-up services)
• Gyms and fitness studios where clients are unmasked

Mandatory FET testing will be progressively rolled out to larger establishments first and extended to smaller businesses thereafter. FET testing at dine-in F&B establishments will be progressively rolled out from next month. More details will be announced when ready.

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

Those who wish to report breaches or poor practices can do so via SnapSAFE – an app that allows the reporting of workplace safety and health issues to MOM.

As of 19 April 2021, SafeEntry Gateway is required as an additional mode of check-in at selected venues with high visitorship, such as malls, large standalone retail stores, and cinemas.

From 15 June 2021, this list of venues required to deploy SafeEntry Gateway will be extended to include more public-facing areas where people are likely to be in contact for prolonged periods of time. The list of additional venues required to deploy SafeEntry Gateway by 15 June 2021 can be found here. To deploy SafeEntry Gateway, businesses may either use the latest version of the SafeEntry (Business) App or request for a SafeEntry Gateway Box.

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. More details on this can be found here.

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.

If you employ foreign workers who live in foreign worker dormitories, please ensure the relevant Safe Management Measures are adhered to. You may refer to this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by the MOM for more information.

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 10 June 2021.