In light of Singapore’s circuit-breaker restrictions lifting last month, the Lion City has continued to promote a number of proactive measures to ensure the highest standard of hygiene and social responsibility are maintained as part of the country’s ongoing recovery efforts.
The measures, which include the nationwide SG Clean initiative, the gradual reopening of tourism attractions, and contactless temperature checks for commuters, have been introduced to provide peace of mind to locals and eventually visitors alike, and are testament to the country’s commitment to a national “keep clean” culture, where keeping Singapore clean is an integral part of life.
An overview of the latest measures are as follows:
SG CLEAN
SG Clean is Singapore’s nationwide response to COVID-19, first launched on 16 February 2020 to raise hygiene standards and encourage premises to take ownership by adopting the SG Clean Quality Mark.
With Singapore coming out of their circuit-breaker restrictions from 19 June, SG Clean remains more important than ever, with its aim of instilling confidence and giving assurance to locals (and eventually visitors too) that venues and facilities in Singapore are certified by qualified third parties in having rigorous hygiene and sanitation measures in place.
How do operators become SG Clean certified?
In order to receive the SG Clean Quality Mark – the stamp of assurance that demonstrates a venue is SG Clean – operators will have to pass audits by government agencies or third-party assessors that certify their premises have adhered to the sector-specific sanitation, hygiene checklists and advisories. The checklists and advisories are tailored to the requirements and operations of the various businesses and cover areas such as management oversight, cleaning methodology, toilet cleanliness and general public hygiene.
SG Clean certifications obtained by the various establishments are valid until June 2021 and there will be re-audits to ensure establishments still maintain the health and sanitation standards as prescribed in the SG Clean sectoral checklists. If establishments are found by the public or through public officers (e.g. Safe Distancing Ambassadors[1]) not to have continued with maintaining the health and sanitation standards, their SG Clean certification will be removed.
How do I find out if a premises (e.g. a hotel or tourism attraction) has obtained the SG Clean Quality Mark?
Once SG Clean certified, the premises will be identifiable by the certificate, posters, decals and/ or badges, which will be featured prominently within their establishment.
How many premises in Singapore have already obtained a SG Clean Quality Mark?
More than 9,000 establishments have obtained the SG Clean Quality Mark to date, following the launch of the initiative in February 2020. Categories of premises available to be certified include Hawker Centres, Tourism Establishments, Retail and F&B Establishments and Transport nodes. For a full list of those that are SG Clean certified see here.
Some popular venues and attractions include:
● Maxwell Road Food Centre
● Tiong Bahru Market
● Singapore Zoo
● Gardens by the Bay
● Singapore Cable Car
● ArtScience Museum
● The Barracks Hotel Sentosa
● Raffles Hotel Singapore
● The Fullerton Hotel
Who is responsible for SG Clean?
Launched by Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Masagos Zulkifli, various government agencies lead the SG Clean campaign across a range of sectors. These include:
● Enterprise Singapore – Food Establishments, retail and shopping malls
● Singapore Food Association – Canteens, coffeeshops, and hawker stalls
● Singapore Tourism Board – Attractions, hotels, integrated resorts, MICE venues, arts venues, cruise terminals, and establishments on Sentosa
● Ministry of Education – Schools
● Ministry of Transport – Transport nodes, airport, ferry terminals
● National Environment Agency – Hawker centres, markets, government- occupied premises and other premises
For more information on SG Clean please visit: www.sgclean.gov.sg
REOPENING OF SINGAPORE ATTRACTIONS AND HOTELS
From 1 July, Singapore tourism businesses have been permitted to resume operations in stages. As of 20 July, 27 approved attractions including ArtScience Museum, Flower Dome at Gardens By The Bay and Singapore Zoo, as well as 80 hotels such as Raffles Hotel Singapore, PARKROYAL On Beach Road and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore have been given the greenlight to open, with the Singapore Tourism Board allowing further businesses to submit their applications to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) to resume operations. All applications must include safe management measures that are tailored to reduce the COVID-19 transmission risks of each attraction or tour. As a further precautionary measure, most attractions will be restricted to no more than 25 per cent of their operating capacity at any one time, for the foreseeable future.
For the latest list of attractions and other tourism businesses allowed to open, visit: https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/home-pages/permitted-tourism-businesses.html
SELF-CHECK TEMPERATURE KIOSKS FOR COMMUTERS
Contactless kiosks that allow users to take their own temperature within two seconds are also being rolled out at popular bus interchanges and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations in Singapore. The Kiosk contains a contactless thermal device and detects the heat signature from the person’s forehead to provide a temperature reading in about 2 seconds. The machines have been deployed at five locations – Braddell, Boon Keng and Tiong Bahru MRT stations, as well as Bukit Panjang and Serangoon bus interchanges – and will be available at 70 locations by the third quarter of this year. The kiosks are a joint initiative by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the Land Transport Authority and the Defence Science and Technology Agency, and were developed in collaboration with Singapore-based engineering company, Hope Technik.
As Singapore moves into Phase 2 of Safe Reopening, this initiative complements existing Safe Management Measures including those for public transport, malls and community facilities to safeguard overall public health.
For more information on this initiative, visit: www.mccy.gov.sg/about-us/news-and-resources/press-statements/2020/jun/temperature-self-check-kiosks-public-transport-locations-islandwide
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