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Tightened restrictions on dining-in, again
On Monday 12 July, Singapore relaxed rules on dining-in at food outlets such as hawker centres/food courts and restaurants. 5 persons are allowed to dine together at these places. We did know then that an index case of a Vietnamese hostess at KTV was tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday 11 July. This case has since blown up the number of infected Covid-19 to 120 in matters of 6 days. This largest active cluster has been termed as the KTV Cluster. Because of this glowing cluster and affecting the community at large, the Multi-Ministry Task Force has reversed back to dine-in in groups of 2 instead of 5 from Monday 19 July till 8 August. Only restaurants with safe-management measures in place can allow fully vaccinated individuals to dine in groups of 5. They have to be able to verify the status of vaccinations of these individuals.
For most situations, dining-in is to be restricted to 2 persons in a group. We are back to square one after one week of relaxed dine-in measures. It is really fluid and unpredictable when it comes to tackling this Covid-19 pandemic. To say this is a disappointment is an understatement. This is especially so when we had ZERO infection case on July 10, just the day before the Vietnamese index case of the KTV Cluster was identified. The worst is that the whole nation has to suffer this restriction when most people have been careful with safe distancing measures.
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On 2 June 2021, I mentioned about Covid-19 risks: The three Cs and one D. 1C is Closed Spaces, 2C is Close Contact Settings with Close-Range Communication, 3C Crowded Spaces, D is Duration and Diversity of Contacts. The probability of virus transmission is heightened when these 4 factors overlap.
KTVs, that flout the safe distancing measures, are a recipe for disaster based on the criteria above. Everyone in Singapore suffers through the actions of few errant KTV operators. Covid-19 coronavirus exploits the human failings of some individuals to the detriment of all other fellow human beings. We are in it together to keep everyone safe.
