Not ‘practical’ to extend 5-person dining in rule to S’poreans: Gan Kim Yong on Bloomberg Forum

Singapore — In response to news that local and foreign delegates at the upcoming Bloomberg New Economy Forum (NEF) would be allowed to dine in groups of up to five people, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said that this could not be extended to Singaporeans.

On Monday (Oct 25), Mr Gan announced that given the importance of NEF in helping Singapore maintain its hub city status, groups of up to five delegates would be allowed to dine together at forum venues and designated restaurants in the city.

“We will need to ensure that they have space to be able to interact with one another so that they can network and meet their business associates to talk business with one another,” said Mr Gan, noting the facilitation of business networking as a key objective of the forum.

Should participants require group discussions, they would also be allowed to dine together in larger groups of five, said Mr Gan, reported The Straits Times.

“They also need to make use of every moment that is available because many of them travel from many different places, and they do want to maximise the value that they can get while they are here,” he noted.

Members from the online community responded to the announcement, presenting questions about the decision.

“Five same family can’t dine in. Five from different countries can? Lol. Since the decision went ahead without public knowledge. Just amend the rules to make it flow better. Like VTL (vaccinated travel lane) to countries that they come from?” asked Facebook user Kenny Quek.

“By splitting up families from the same household to dine in different parts of the restaurant, aren’t we are increasing the chance of each group catching the virus from outsiders?” added Facebook user Chen-Pang Wong.

The Bloomberg NEF will be held from Nov 16 to 19 at the Capella Singapore hotel, with over 300 participants from 51 countries, including current and former heads of states and global business leaders.

According to a note from Economic Development Board chairman Beh Swan Gin to forum delegates seen by ST, guests allowed to dine together in groups of up to five can include non-delegates.

In response to concerns about why the same measures could not be extended to Singaporeans who are limited to groups of two fully vaccinated individuals until Nov 21, Mr Gan said it was not practical.

He explained that the forum would include a limited number of attendees required to undergo pre-event testing on each day of the event.

“We have to consider whether that is practical,” he noted, referring to the same setup for the rest of the population.

“Those who are infected may bring the virus back home, and they may have seniors at home who will be exposed to the danger,” said Mr Gan.

“So we have to bear this in mind as we discuss and explore the possibilities for opening up dining in flexibility for locals.” /TISG

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