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SINGAPORE: Employers have been urged to implement flexible work hours to allow workers to travel outside of peak hours and reduce the risk of large crowds, as Singapore continues to resume more activities amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Said Co-Chair Minister Lawrence Wong at the multi-ministerial task force press conference on Wednesday (September 9): “For workplaces, we are now seeing how more employees can return to work safely.” .
“The problem is not just about the number of people returning to work,” said Mr. Wong, noting that a more flexible working schedule is also necessary so that a “good part of the workers” travel during working hours. less activity after 9.30 am.
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This will reduce the risk of large crowds gathering in public transport, public spaces and office buildings, he added, noting that the Ministry of Manpower and tripartite partners are investigating the issue.
Additionally, employers must seriously implement their safe management measures and ensure safe distancing is respected, the Health Ministry said in a press release, as increased interactions in the workplace increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
COMPLIANCE WITH SAFE DISTANCE MEASURES IN F&B WORKSHOPS
Authorities continue to see violations of safe management measures at some food and beverage outlets (F&B) and will now take stricter enforcement measures, Wong said.
“I’m glad that the majority of the people, the food and beverage operators and the diners, the majority of the people are complying with these measures. But there are still some breaches that we detect literally on a daily basis, and they usually happen in popular nightspots, not always, but very often in some of these popular areas, ”she said.
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Violations include the sale and consumption of alcohol after 10:30 p.m. M., People not wearing masks, customers sitting less than 1m apart, playing loud music, gathering in groups of more than five, and mixing groups, especially within a private room.
On September 5, the Singapore Tourism Board ordered a restaurant to cease operations for failing to comply with safe management measures. A day later, Enterprise Singapore fined five establishments for failing to guarantee a minimum of 1 meter between groups of diners.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Food Agency fined and suspended the operations of a bar and two restaurants for failure to comply with safe management measures last week.
In total, around 20 F&B establishments have been suspended since the start of phase 2.
As such, the agencies will take enforcement action against these food and beverage outlets, including for first-time offenders, with immediate effect.
“Our law enforcement agencies will intensify spot checks as well as enforcement actions,” said Mr. Wong.
Enforcement action could include fines and ordered closings, depending on the severity of the violation.
For example, if there have been multiple violations at a location, authorities can close the facility and send the case to the Attorney General for possible prosecution.
“Until now, the focus of enforcement agencies has been to issue a warning for the first offender,” he said.
“But I think enough time has passed for the entire F&B industry, as well as for diners to understand what the rules are and follow them.”
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