Dine-in group sizes reduced to 2 from Jul 19 until Aug 8

Group sizes for dining-in at F&B establishments will be reduced to two from Jul 19 till Aug 8 for those who are not fully vaccinated. 

Dining-in can still be done in groups of up to five for those fully vaccinated, while children under 12 years old can also dine-in with members of the same household since they are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. 

Individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 can also participate in such groups of five. 

However, people who are unvaccinated can still dine-in in groups of five, provided they have a valid negative pre-event COVID-19 test result. 

The announcement was made by the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force (MTF) press conference on Friday (Jul 16). The new measures come in light of a new cluster linked to KTV lounges, which has 120 cases so far. 

“This targeted approach will better protect those who are yet to be vaccinated while allowing those who have been fully vaccinated to continue with the current measures,” said Minister Gan Kim Yong. 

A person is only considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty or Moderna vaccines. Those who have taken Sinovac vaccines are not considered to be fully vaccinated. 

In a separate press release, the Ministry of Health said that F&B establishments will have the flexibility to decide whether to introduce the vaccination-differentiated group sizes, depending on their own operating model, customers and whether they are able to check on the status of individuals dining in. 

However, the group sizes will remain at two people for hawker centres, food courts and coffee shops. 

This is because these locations are more porous and generally do not impose compulsory SafeEntry check-ins. It will also be challenging to check whether the individuals have been vaccinated or have a negative test result before they seat themselves.