[Update on Feb. 13, 2020: This article has been edited to reflect that the President of TungLok has avoided serving raw food in his restaurants, instead of advising others to do so.]

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To help restaurants in Singapore during this critical period, the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has reached out to landlords to write off their F&B tenants' rent.

Jewel offer rental rebates to F&B outlets

In a press conference today (Feb. 13), RAS praised Jewel Changi Airport for being the first establishment in Singapore to offer rental rebates to restaurants in the mall.

The mall has reached out to restaurant tenants to offer them a 50 per cent reduction on gross rent. This was done even before RAS reached out to Jewel Changi Airport.

This, according to Tan, will go a long way in "saving livelihoods of employees".

"Their kindness will not be forgotten."

In the meantime, Andrew Tjioe, President Advisor of RAS and CEO of TungLok, has said that his restaurants have avoided serving certain foods like raw oysters and sashimi.

Anticipating more than 50% dip in business

Restaurants in Singapore have projected a dip in business since the first reported case of coronavirus, according to Vincent Tan, president of RAS.

This projection is based on both manpower cost and rental cost.

As a result of Covid-19, most businesses are anticipating more than 50 per cent loss of revenue over the next 3 months.

It was also revealed that close to 60 per cent of restaurateurs surveyed indicated that they are "not prepared and equipped" to deal with the Covid-19 situation as it is different from SARS, where the incubation periods are longer and symptoms are clearer.

Andrew Kwan, vice president of RAS said that he foresees some restaurants closing within the next few months if they are unable to wait out the situation.

Represents 12,000 food establishments in Singapore

The food service industry in Singapore has more than 10,200 enterprises and 12,000 establishments.

Together, the industry as a whole employs close to 200,000 people.

RAS has more than 450 members, representing close to 700 brands that operate almost 4,000 outlets.

Top image by Mandy How