Views & Visions: Three’s a crowd Part 1

Some questions have become redundant in Singapore recently. A while ago, it was, “Eating in or takeaway?” With a spike in COVID-19 clusters and community infections, the government banned dining in for about a month. Eateries could continue operating, but only for deliveries and takeaways. Recently, dining in was finally allowed to resume. However, we can only eat out individually or in pairs. According to the new restrictions, groups of more than two people who are not from the same household are not allowed to dine together at eateries. Large groups of friends might be tempted to get around the rule by splitting themselves into pairs and making multiple reservations at multiple tables at the same eatery. But the government says that’s not allowed. The rule applies to walk-in customers too. Exceptions are made for people from the same household. As long as you live together, you can eat out together. However, you have to make it clear that you are from the same household. The rules may seem clear-cut in theory, but in reality, the devil is in the details. For instance, how do you prove that you are from the same household? One way is to show your national identity card to restaurant staff. Our identity cards clearly state our residential address. (Tan Ying Zhen) To be continued… This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.