Views & Visions: Three’s a crowd Part 2

Continued from Part 1… Can a family of four — for example, two parents and their children — sit together? After all, it would seem fairly obvious that they are from the same household. Apparently not. For one, restaurants and eateries have reconfigured their tables and chairs to seat only solo diners and/or pairs. The rules also state that even if we are from the same household, we have to obey the limit of two per table. In fact, we are not even allowed to interact across multiple tables, regardless of whether the other party is a stranger or someone from your own household. This has resulted in some awkward situations. A friend who was out with her husband and their two toddlers had to sit at two separate tables — and they were reminded by restaurant staff that the pairs could not talk to each other, let alone share food. So each table had one adult and one child, and they had to order separately. Thankfully, the government is already talking about raising the group limit for dining. By the time you read this, Singaporeans may be allowed to eat out in groups of not more than five. This is in tandem with the ramping up of the vaccination programme and regular testing of workers in higher-risk settings. Something that used to be taken for granted has become a luxury, and we can only hope we get to “indulge” soon. (Tan Ying Zhen) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.