Even since dine-in was allowed, F&B staff must have heard of this joke more than ten times: “Oh, I sleep with my wife and kids at home, and now you tell me we cannot come into this restaurant together and sit in two different tables? Call Lawrence Wong here now!”
The rules have been clear since the beginning of Phase Two: you can only have a maximum of five people in a table, and since gathering is also kept at a maximum of five, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Unless a family who lives together comes out for a meal, and they comprise six people.
So, what if they’re dining in? Would five have a meal together while the one who lost the scissors-paper-stone dabao the food home?
Someone could’ve really called Lawrence Wong because the question is finally answered.
Households With More Than 5 People Can Seat in More Than 1 Table While Dining Out
It’s now confirmed: according to MOH in their latest press release, households with more than five persons and who wish to dine out together may book more than one table to accommodate everyone in the household.
They should, however, limit their interactions between tables, and the tables should already be spaced 1-metre apart.
Other than that, there should not be any organized events, celebrations or parties in an F&B setting involving multiple tables, and where people are mingling amongst themselves without their masks on.
Hello, Sengkang coffeeshop that’s gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
In addition, there are now new rules for F&B outlets.
Over the past few weeks, some F&B outlets have been observed to be playing extremely loud music, causing patrons to have to talk more loudly to be heard which increases the risk of droplet spread.
As an added precaution, MOH will tighten the rules to allow recorded music at F&B outlets to be played as soft background music only. For people who hate loud music in restaurants (yours truly), this sounds like music to their ears.
Live music, live broadcasts (both TV and radio) as well as video screenings remain disallowed.
Also, MOH has found that some patrons at some of these “loud” outlets were also found to be not wearing their masks for prolonged periods, with some even mixing with persons from other tables.
MOH has warned that their officers will be stepping up their checks in F&B outlets and take enforcement action against any breaches of safe distancing rules by the individuals or the F&B operators.
Lest you didn’t know, recently, two restaurants have been forced to close after breaching COVID-19 rules, so in the words of PCK…don’t pray pray.