SINGAPORE - Eldercare facilities, hawker centres, schools and other high-risk premises will have to develop and implement an environmental sanitation programme in 2021.
This will include thorough cleaning at least every six months, daily cleaning of toilets and lifts, and a pest management plan.
These are some of the new mandatory sanitation standards in the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill, which was passed in Parliament on Monday (Oct 5).
The Bill seeks to raise Singapore's general standards of hygiene and instil a national culture of keeping the country clean, which will help in the fight against future disease outbreaks here.
Presenting the Bill for debate, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu noted that despite Singapore's reputation as a clean and green city, there is still room for improvement.
She cited the results of a survey by the Singapore Management University (SMU) that was released in September, which found that one in five people thought it acceptable to leave rubbish around if there was already litter in the area.
"Clearly, we still have some way to go to inculcate a strong sense of social responsibility in Singaporeans to do their part to keep public spaces clean," said Ms Fu.
She added that the Covid-19 pandemic underscores the need for high standards of sanitation and hygiene.
"Covid-19 will not be the last global pandemic that we have to face. We must shore up our public health defences and be ready to contain emerging outbreaks, when they come," she said.
Under the new Bill, higher-risk premises with high footfall or vulnerable occupants such as pre-schools, schools, youth facilities, eldercare facilities, hawker centres and coffeeshops have to develop and roll up an environmental sanitation programme.
The programme has to include the following:
First, toilets, lifts, bin centres and high-touch surfaces must be cleaned at least once a day.
Second, thorough cleaning of areas that are not easily accessible and not covered by routine cleaning - such as out of reach window panels, ceiling and wall fans - has to be carried out at least once every six months.
Third, a pest management plan must be put in place, along with cleaning and disinfecting procedures to handle incidents like when a person vomits on the premises.
Fourth, the premises have to meet targets like ensuring the area is relatively free of stains and environmental waste.
Finally, workers must be trained and provided with the necessary equipment and cleaning agents to carry out effective cleaning and disinfection.
The responsibility of developing and implementing such a programme will fall to premise managers and environmental control coordinators or environmental control officers, who will be appointed by the premise managers.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Monday that it is currently developing courses to train these officers and coordinators.
About 2,630 pre-schools, schools, youth facilities and eldercare and disability facilities are expected to implement these changes by the middle of next year.
Around 1,240 hawker centres and coffee shops have till the end of next year to meet the new requirements.
The NEA will study whether the regime needs to be expanded to other types of premises in future.
Said Ms Fu: "This Bill marks another milestone in our efforts to keep Singapore clean and safe. The state of public cleanliness reflects the character of our citizens. Through collective action and co-ownership, we will forge a cleaner, stronger and kinder Singapore for generations to come."
