Singapore locks down until June

The Singapore government has reduced the list of “essential services” as part of a tougher clampdown on social distancing as it tries to arrest the spread of Covid-19 in the city-state.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on last night announced a trimmed list essential services applied during the “circuit breaker” period which has been extended for another four weeks and will likely not now end until June 1. Subsequently, more retailers including food and beverage outlets have to temporarily shut down its business – although this is initially going to be enforced only until May 4, subject to extension.

Here are types of food and beverage retailers that must suspend their operations from today (April 22):

• All food-and-beverage vending machines located in parks, regardless of what they sell, must be shut. Takeaway and delivery services located in parks are to close.
• Stores predominantly selling beverages including bubble tea, fruit juice, alcoholic drinks and coffee.
• Stores predominantly selling packaged snacks and loose snacks including nuts, potato chips, popcorn, bak kwa and cheese.
• Stores predominantly selling desserts including ice cream, cakes, sweet pastries, grass jelly and red/green bean soup. However, these rules do not apply to hawker centres and food courts. Online retailing of these products is allowed, provided that they are from a licensed central kitchen, manufacturing facility or warehouse of the food-and-beverage company.
• Optical shops can operate by appointment only, with walk-in customers banned.
• Pet supplies stores and retail laundry services must close their physical stores, but are permitted to provide online sales and delivery.

Other food-and-beverage outlets, including those selling hot or cooked snacks, bread or meals, are allowed to continue to sell, but only via takeaway or delivery services during the “circuit breaker” period. Dining-in is not permitted.

However, the MTI contradicts itself in documentation explaining the new restrictions, possibly due to the rushed pace with which they were prepared. In an appendix, it says that “specialized stores and outlets that predominantly retail” coffee and tea must close. Immediately below that declaration, the MTI says “Only hawker centers, coffee shops and food courts are excluded”.

So it remains unclear whether coffee chains such as Starbucks are allowed to continue to trade from today. Starbucks had not responded on its Singapore operations before deadline.

Meanwhile, stores continue to serve hot meals (as well as coffee) may continue to trade – ostensibly selling coffee and meals, but not cakes or sweets (once existing stock runs out). But other media is reporting that stores will be classified by the predominant product they sell, which suggests coffee shops may not continue to trade, as they sell more coffee than meals.

Inside Retail Asia is awaiting further clarification of this and other points and will update this story as further details come to light.

Supermarkets and wet markets can continue trading as normal, however social-distancing practices must be observed.