COVID: All nightlife businesses in Singapore can fully reopen from 19 April

SINGAPORE — All nightlife businesses will be allowed to fully reopen from 19 April, following two-year-long curbs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All nightlife establishments – bars, pubs, karaoke establishments, discotheques, and nightclubs – will be subjected to safe management measures (SMMs) imposed on food and beverage (F&B) establishments, retail liquor establishments, and live performances, where applicable, including vaccination-differentiated SMMs (VDS), said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement on Monday (4 April).

For nightlife establishments where dancing among patrons is one of the intended activities, a negative Antigen Rapid Test (ART) supervised by a Health Ministry-approved test provider, either in-person or remotely, will be required for patrons before entering their premises.

The COVID-19 test will be valid for 24 hours from the time of the test result. Patrons must get tested before the start of their visit, and at most 24 hours before the end of the attendance at the event or activity.

The required SMMs for all nightlife businesses include these parameters:

- Group sizes: Groups of up to 10 fully vaccinated persons, where VDS checks have been implemented at entrances.

- Mask-wearing: Mask-wearing required indoors but optional outdoors.

- Safe distancing: Safe distancing of at least one metre when mask-off, between individuals or groups.

- Capacity limits: Capacity limits of 75 per cent for large settings or events with more than 1,000 persons, which are mask-on and there is no 1m safe distancing, and no capacity limits for smaller settings or events with less than 1,000 persons.

- Supervised ART tests: A supervised ART test for patrons as long as the premise offers dancing among patrons as an intended activity. This will apply mainly to nightclubs and discotheques.

The MTI and MHA said that the enforcement agencies will continue to monitor the compliance of these SMMs.

In the event of breaches, enforcement actions will be taken under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, and the business will be liable for the issuance of Notice of Composition (NOC) and closure order.

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