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The Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) announced in a press conference on Aug. 6 that various Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures would be eased.

Dine-in under certain conditions

From Aug. 10, the number of people allowed for social gatherings increased from two to five persons.

In addition, groups of five would be allowed to dine in at F&B establishments, provided all five diners are fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated individuals are those who have received the full regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna or WHO EUL vaccines, with an additional two weeks for the vaccine to be fully effective, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

MOH added that unvaccinated children aged 12 years and below (born in and after 2009) can be included in the group of five, as long as all the children are from the same household.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated people are allowed to dine in, but can only do so at hawker centres and coffee shops, and in groups of up to two people.

As the updated restrictions kicked in, here's what some eateries in shopping malls, hawker centres, and alfresco dining areas have been experiencing on the ground.

Eateries in shopping malls

Not many customers

On Aug. 12, Mothership visited a couple of malls at Orchard just after lunch time.

The eateries there were relatively empty.

Customers who could dine in, however, were either alone or in groups of two.

Only a handful were in groups of more than two.

Staff members from fast food outlets Subway and Mos Burger told Mothership that they haven't gotten a lot of customers since the dine-in restrictions were lifted.

They added that it was still too early to see any improvement in sales.

One of the staff told us:

"I think a lot of people are not fully vaccinated yet so it's still not possible for them to dine in. And those who do come, we had turn them away because they are not fully vaccinated."

Turning people away

In fact, all of the eateries Mothership spoke to encountered similar experiences.

A staff from fast food chain 4Fingers at Orchard Gateway said:

"We've turned quite a number of people away actually, especially foreigners who claimed that they were already vaccinated overseas but they don't have proof or their vaccination records are not updated according to MOH's regulations."

According to MOH, Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Long-Term Pass Holders with the relevant Covid-19 vaccination records are able to have their records ingested into the National Immunisation Registry (NIR), as long as they have documentation to show proof of vaccination and their serology test results are positive.

This includes either partial or complete Covid-19 vaccination received overseas.

The 4Fingers staff added:

"They were some difficult customers lah who insisted on dining in, even though they know that they cannot because they [are] not vaccinated.

We encountered one yesterday, but we just need to explain to them that there are rules that we must follow and we take the rules seriously."

Difficult customers

Café Morozoff at Orchard Central and Oriole Coffee Bar at 313@somerset had their fair share of "difficult" customers too.

A staff from Café Morozoff told Mothership: "Some customers tried arguing and saying that this café is a coffee shop and for coffee shops, people who are not vaccinated can dine in. But we are not a coffee shop, we are [an] F&B business. If you are not fully vaccinated, we won't allow you in."

Meanwhile, a staff from Oriole Coffee Bar said that she encountered customers who tried to enter the eatery with a vaccination status screenshot.

"There were a few who tried to sneak in, but we will ask them to refresh their status. If they can't do that, that means they're using a screenshot so we will turn them away."

Staff stationed at entrance

Mothership observed that nearly all eateries had a staff member stationed at the entrance to check an individual's vaccination status.

A McDonald's staff member who was stationed at the outlet's entrance told us:

"If there are people who are not fully vaccinated, I will tell them to opt for takeaway instead of just turning them away. So far, things have been going smoothly, everyone is following the rules and I haven't had any difficult customers.

But it has only been a few days lah, and I can only speak for this outlet. I'm sure the situation differs from place to place."

Alfresco restaurants

Things were pretty similar at alfresco dining areas though.

No crowd

When Mothership visited Robertson Quay in the late afternoon and evening of Aug. 12, the usually crowded watering hole was noticeably empty, despite most cafes and restaurants being open.

Max Lee, Chief Operating Officer of The Book Cafe, shared that he expects two to three weeks for the crowd to return, once more individuals are fully vaccinated.

A manager of Wine Connection at Robertson Walk added that he expected more reservations to come in over the weekend, but that it was still "quiet, not much of a crowd".

Putting up posters and signs

To make explaining the new regulations easier for F&B staff, some alfresco restaurants had taken to putting up print-ups of MOH posters, or signs for one-metre safe distancing, at the entrance of their establishments.

Had to turn people away too

Similar to the eateries in shopping malls, some alfresco restaurants shared that they had had to turn away a few customers in the past few days.

All of these customers were unvaccinated, with many still appearing to be confused by dine-in measures.

Michael Lim, the manager of Toby’s Estate, said that there were customers who had claimed that their cafe was a "coffeeshop", and hence should permit unvaccinated individuals. He said:

“There was also another couple who had brought a baby along, but the baby was from a different household. So, unfortunately, we had to turn them away.

If unsure, we lean more to the conservative side. In the end, we have no choice, because if anything happens, we take responsibility.”

Customers with overseas vaccination records

Additionally, the owner of Laurent Cafe & Chocolate Bar pointed out that the regulation on validity of overseas Covid-19 vaccination certificates meant that a portion of the area's regular customers were not yet able to dine in.

With more expats in the area, this was a situation specific to the neighbourhood.

When Mothership visited, this was the case for a couple from the U.K., who lived in the area.

The couple and their kid (less than 12 years) were turned away from the Chocolate Bar, as physical copies of overseas vaccination certificates were not sufficient for entry.

While they had taken the additional serology test required, their results were still pending and had not yet been reflected on their TraceTogether and HealthHub apps.

Shared the owner in frustration: “So if you see a lot of the places [here], it’s still empty, because a lot of people are still waiting for their certificate to be valid.”

If businesses did not allow them to sit down, some got angry as they did not understand the rules. Most restaurants still ended up turning customers away, because “if a safe distancing ambassador comes in, we get in trouble”.

Having run the business for 14 years, she added:

"I have no idea if business will improve. It has not been like reopenings in the past, where people were happy to come back. Now it’s also a confusing and frustrating journey for people, because it is like ‘open close open close’.

It [Robertson Quay] is very empty, even if you go on the street. It is very depressing."

Hawker centres

Mothership also visited three hawker centres on the same day to observe how hawkers and patrons are adapting to the new set of safe management guidelines.

Orange nets and single entry points

One noticeable change was the orange nets surrounding the perimeter.

This limits the "porous" nature of hawker centres with only single entry and exit points.

When Mothership visited Amoy Street Food Centre slightly after lunch on Aug. 12, there were two entry and exit points.

Patrons to the hawker centre have to do SafeEntry scanning before proceeding in.

The majority of the patrons scanned their SafeEntry without being asked.

Business is still the same

Ali, a drink stall owner at Amoy Streeet Food Centre, shared that since dining-in was allowed, business has been "generally the same".

He said that because of the barriers put in place, people are less likely to visit the hawker centre.

He shared that previously, people would just park their vehicles by the side of the hawker centre and go in for a quick purchase.

Now, they have to walk one big round to enter, which deters people from entering.

Another stall owner, Zilch of Lagoon in a Bowl shared that after the ban on dining in has been lifted, the number of walk-in customers stayed pretty much the same but the orders via online delivery platforms dropped.

Mothership also visited Maxwell Food Centre, which was located a stone's throw away from Amoy Street Food Centre and the situation over there was very much similar.

The orange netting was seen there too.

Eileen, who works at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall, said the situation is "still bad" as there is a decrease of footfall in the hawker centre.

Mothership also visited Lau Pa Sat, which boasts the popular Satay Street. in the evening.

Like the other hawker centres, there was a single entry and exit point to the food centre.

However, at the satay street, there were no orange nettings or any form of barrier.

Busy situation at Lau Pa Sat

At about 7:30pm, the street was almost full with diners, all in pairs.

Safe Distancing Ambassadors too could also be seen roaming around the area, and reminding diners to mask up after eating.

Ainon who worked at Satay Stall No. 7 and 8 mentioned that so far there have been diners streaming in in pairs and they did not have to turn customers away as there are only two seats for each table and that safe distancing is "more than one metre".

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Top image by Faris Alfiq & Syahindah Ishak.