3 Bars To Reopen Under Pilot Programme, Customers Strongly Advised Against Visiting More Than 1 Per Night
When Singapore’s night spots were closed on 27 Mar after our Covid-19 cases started to rise, many frequent patrons were deprived of a place to enjoy drinks.
Since then, we’ve survived the ‘Circuit Breaker’ and watched as night spots stayed closed or reinvented themselves.
Now, 3 of them will finally be reopened for drinking for 2 months, but if you want to enjoy a tipple there you’ll have to start before 10.30pm.
Pilot programme for nightlife reopening
In Nov, it was announced that a pilot programme will allow selected nightlife establishments to reopen.
In a press release on Tuesday (8 Dec), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) finally revealed the shortlist of establishments allowed to reopen, and it’s a short one indeed.
It consists of 3 bars — 2 of them are in Orchard Road’s Japanese nightlife district, and the 3rd is in Boat Quay.
They are:
1. Bar Kiharu, 150 Orchard Plaza, #03-17
The bar popular with Japanese patrons will open on Wednesday (9 Dec) or Thursday (10 Dec), reported The Straits Times (ST).
2. Bell Bar, 5 Koek Road, Cuppage Plaza, #03-12
Another bar popular with Japanese patrons, it opened on Tuesday (8 Dec) night, reported ST.
3. Skinny’s Lounge, 82 Boat Quay, #01-02
In a Facebook post, Skinny’s Lounge announced that it will reopen on Wednesday (9 Dec) at 4pm.
There’s limited capacity in the American-themed bar, though, so do arrive as early as you can to avoid disappointment.
SMMs include wearing masks, keeping to rule of 5
Though the 3 bars will reopen, there’s quite a comprehensive list of SMMs that must absolutely be followed.
Most of these SMMs will be familiar to Singaporeans by now, so they shouldn’t be tough to abide by.
So do take note of these rules to ensure that you don’t make trouble for the establishment and ruin your night out:
- Entry is by TraceTogether app or token only.
- The rule of 5 people to a group still exists.
- A 1m distance must be kept between groups.
- No intermingling between groups is allowed — and that goes for swopping members.
- Masks must be worn at all times when not eating or drinking.
- Alcohol is not allowed to be sold, served or consumed after 10.30pm
- Live music, radio broadcasts and TV/video and public entertainment isn’t allowed — that includes dancing and typical pub games like darts and billiards.
- Recorded music is allowed, but not louder than 60 decibels.
- Hostessing services are definitely not allowed, and interactions with staff can’t be longer than necessary.
- CCTV recordings of the premises must be used and kept for at least 28 days.
- For the staff, the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM’s) SMMs must be followed.
The 3 establishments will be monitored by enforcement agencies throughout the pilot for any breaches of the above SMMs.
If a breach is found, action will be taken and the outlet may be removed from the pilot.
The operator may also face a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a jail term of up to 6 months.
Patrons advised against visiting more than 1 outlet per night
In addition, to the above SMMs, patrons were also strongly advised not to visit more than 1 of these outlets in 1 night.
That’s also to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as there have been cases aboard of bigger clusters forming due to patrons bar hopping.
3 chosen out of 6 nominations
The 3 bars were selected after the Government received 6 nominations from nightlife business associations.
The nominations, in turn, were made after outlets that were interested to reopen submitted proposals to the business associations.
These proposals detailed how the establishments intended to reopen safely, including how they would implement the safe management measures (SMMs) required under the pilot.
Upon getting the nominations, the Government reviewed them to determine whether the establishments were capable and ready to comply with the SMMs.
As the pilots are a test to see whether the SMMs are strict enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19, more reopenings of nightlife businesses will happen if everything goes well.
MTI will share more details for the pilots for karaoke outlets and nightclubs before they start in Jan.
Let’s have fun responsibly
While patrons may be glad that they can finally enjoy drinks at a night spot again, some may be disappointed that only 3 were picked.
With SMMs to contend with, a night out won’t be totally restored to its former glory just yet.
Singapore’s not out of the woods yet with Covid-19 though, and cases can pop up when you least expect it.
Thus, let’s be responsible and have fun within the rules, so more night spots can reopen and we can truly get back to normal soon.
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