Despite the move into Phase 3 of the pandemic recovery process, Singapore’s Ministry of Health continues to urge employers to set remote working as the default arrangement for staff for the foreseeable future. The advisory comes after the government delayed certain adjustments to COVID-19 rules regarding how many people can visit commercial establishments.
Currently, health officials wish for companies to to enable more staff members to work from home and to restrict the movement of on-site employees within a single location. To facilitate this, the deployment of workers from site to site is temporarily banned to stem any super spreader events.
“Employers should ensure that employees who are able to work from home continue to do so,” said Minister Lawrence Wong of the COVID task force, ahead of the MOH’s advisory last week. A WFH arrangement would still be necessary to minimise movement and risk, Wong said.
Employers must also continue to implement staggered shifts for workers who are required to report on site. Select sectors may require workers to follow a hybrid setup; however companies must prohibit employees from congregating at social events or serving food and beverage at work. Home-based businesses (HBBs), meanwhile, can operate following the same safe management measures from previous weeks, such as accommodating only up to five unique visitors a day.
Other changes are expected to be introduced soon, with more to come by mid-July provided the number of COVID cases continue to fall:
- Sporting events: Resume mass participatory sports events with up to 250 attendees with PET, up to 50 attendees without PET.
- Cinemas: Up to 250 attendees with PET, up to 50 attendees without PET
- Food & beverage businesses: Dine-in allowed to resume with group sizes of up to two people; prohibition of recorded music and sounds in F&B establishments.
- In-person classes: Resume with up to 50 attendees per class in groups of up to five attendees, with further details to be released. Separate safe management measures for higher-risk arts and sports classes apply.
- Spas, saunas and salons: Services which require masks to be removed (e.g. facials, saunas) allowed to resume. Prevailing safe management measures should still be observed.
- Shopping malls: Occupancy limit of one person per 10sqm of Gross Floor Area (GFA)
