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Six people in Singapore were caught dining at hawker centres even though they were not fully vaccinated, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said on May 13 evening, CNA reported.

They will be fined S$300 each.

Random spot checks conducted in two weeks

MSE said random spot checks were conducted at various F&B establishments from April 26 to May 9 for the vaccination status of those who dined in.

Enforcement officers from the National Environment Agency and Singapore Food Agency conducted more than 20,000 "selective" spot checks for hawker centres and coffee shops in that period alone.

This amounted to about 1,500 checks a day at just these two venues.

Diners are to show the vaccination "green tick" verification on their TraceTogether (TT) app, or scan their TT token when approached by enforcement officers or safe distancing ambassadors.

Physical vaccination records can also be shown.

Background

Those who are not fully vaccinated are not supposed to dine in at hawker centres and coffee shops despite the easing of many Covid-19 restrictions from April 26 and the absence of entry checks.

Vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) still apply to all food and beverage (F&B) outlets.

VDS were removed from April 26 in all but three settings: F&B outlets, nightlife establishments where dancing is an activity, as well as events with more than 500 participants.

These settings were assessed to pose a higher risk of transmission of Covid-19.

F&B establishments, including hawker centres and coffee shops, were allowed to seat groups of five fully-vaccinated people without the need for full VDS checks at their entrances when group sizes were capped at 10.

This was to ease the operational burden of theses establishments.

The onus is on diners to abide by the rules with the understanding that spot checks will be conducted.

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