Lucky Plaza, Peninsula Plaza to have odd-even weekend entry restrictions from Aug 29, based on last digit of IC or FIN

The move is part of measures to limit crowds at the two malls. ST PHOTOS: KUA CHEE SIONG, LIM YAOHUI

SINGAPORE - Visitors to shopping malls Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza will only be able to do so depending on the last digit of their identity card or foreign identification card number on the weekends starting Aug 29, as part of measures to limit crowds.

Those with an even last digit on their cards can visit these malls only on designated even dates, while those with an odd last digit can visit only on odd dates.

More details will be provided by the Singapore Tourism Board and Enterprise Singapore.

Making the announcement at a virtual press conference on Friday (Aug 21), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the two malls attract large crowds and long queues on weekends.

He said: "We did something similar for our popular wet markets recently, so it is a system that we are familiar with.

"The multi-ministry task force will continue to monitor the situation closely, and other premises that face similar crowd management issues may also be required to adopt this entry restriction, if necessary."

In April, popular wet markets such as Chong Pang Market and Geylang Serai Market limited patrons by implementing odd and even date entry restrictions.

At the same press conference, Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 with Mr Gan, spoke about measures for continued safe dine-ins at food and beverage establishments.

The task force has observed in recent weeks that recorded music playing in restaurants to be very loud, which caused patrons to talk louder to be heard, he said.

"This is a concern because of the risk of people speaking loudly and droplets spreading easily, especially when dining in in a restaurant in close proximity within a table... As an added precaution, we will tighten the rules to make very clear to all F&B outlets that recorded music at the outlets will only be allowed a soft background music."

Live broadcasts, both on television and radio, as well as video screenings remain disallowed.

Mr Wong said that the task force is also looking into the situation where people are booking multiple tables at a single restaurant, so that groups of more than five can gather.

He said: "We urge everyone to refrain from booking multiple tables for large gatherings in a restaurant. We also seek the cooperation of F&B operators not to accept such reservations."

Households with more than five people can do so to dine at the same place, but not for anyone else.

"There should not be organised events and celebrations or parties in a F&B setting involving multiple tables... People in such gatherings tend to be mingling amongst themselves without their masks on, and there are risks of large clusters forming in such settings."

Enforcement officers will be stepping up their checks on F&B outlets, and they will take enforcement action against individuals or F&B operators, should there be any breaches of the safe distancing rules, he added.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.