Kopitiam IMM chairs ‘too close’ — dine-in suspended for 10 days

Singapore — Too close for comfort. That was the trouble with the seating and the tables at the Kopitiam food court in the IMM mall in Jurong East.

That meant that this popular eatery which offers a wide range of foods had breached the current safe-distancing regulations.

For cutting it too close, the food court at the outlet mall won’t be allowed to offer dine-in for 10 whole days, starting today, Thursday.

It ends on Nov 27.

So, until then, customers won’t be allowed to sit down to enjoy their Hainanese chicken rice, yong tau fu, ayam panggang, laksa, teriyaki chicken, Japanese hotplate, chicken tikka, Korean kimchi stew, claypot dishes and other delights at Kopitiam.

The suspension was announced on Wednesday, in a  Facebook posting of Singapore Atrium Sale, a site dedicated to bargain hunters who enjoy sniffing out deals in warehouses, sales and retail stores.

“Dine-in services will be suspended at Kopitiam IMM due to failure to ensure safe distancing measures,” the post noted.

Takeaway and food delivery services are still allowed. Other eateries in IMM are not affected by the order.

The Facebook post said that  Enterprise Singapore officers observed that the back of the chairs placed at one table in Kopitiam was less than one metre away from the back of the chairs of another table on Oct 16, 2021.

The agency’s guidelines require food and beverage establishments to ensure that there be no less than one metre between diners (up to two could eat together) to manage the risk of Covid-19 transmission.

“In addition, F&B establishments must ensure that the furniture is arranged in such a way to facilitate safe distancing between groups, such as the distance measured between the backs of chairs used by customers in different groups or the legs of chairs if there is no back,” said the agency.

Beginning Nov 8, up to five fully vaccinated persons from the same household are allowed to dine-in together at F&B establishments able to administer comprehensive Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures.

The announcement by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce for Covid-19 came as a result of the growth in new Covid-19 cases stabilising, with the week-on-week ratio of community cases hovering around 0.8 to 1.0.

With the easing of restrictions, establishments must now adhere to strict safe management measures such as keeping chairs and tables properly apart. /TISG

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