All businesses in categories given the green light to resume operations on Tuesday can do so without needing to seek approval, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said yesterday.

This means all food outlets selling packaged snacks, cakes, confectionery and desserts as well as home-based food businesses and hairdressers can reopen, subject to restrictions.

Pet supply stores and retail laundry services, which had been restricted to online sales and deliveries since tighter circuit breaker measures kicked in on April 22, can reopen physical stores next Tuesday.

The clarification comes amid some confusion after it was announced last Saturday that some sectors would be able to reopen from May 12 and businesses would have to obtain exemptions from MTI.

The ministry said yesterday that those in the earlier announced categories do not need to seek exemption before resuming operations, given the large number of businesses involved.

Instead, MTI will grant them a class exemption to resume business during this period, subject to them fully implementing safe management measures.

Companies The Straits Times spoke to said they are relieved to be able to reopen next week, although some expressed frustration over the lack of communication and clarity around the rules.

Mr Wei Chan, managing director of The Pine Garden bakery, said the announcement last Saturday of an extra week of store closures came late for bakeries like his, which had already started taking cake orders for Mother's Day on Sunday. It is now refunding customers and offering savoury alternatives such as steamed turnip cake instead.

The tighter rules aimed at reducing the number of people commuting to work had originally been scheduled to end on Monday, although the Government had said they could be extended.

The Pine Garden, which sells cakes and bread, has had to close four of its six outlets and stop selling cakes at its flagship store in Ang Mo Kio.

"Mother's Day is quite huge for bakeries... a lot of us rely on festive holidays to balance out profits for the whole year," said Mr Chan.

While businesses are gearing up to resume operations, not all are opening all their outlets at once.

Bak kwa brand Lim Chee Guan said it will reopen its flagship store in New Bridge Road first and monitor the situation before deciding when to open its other three outlets.

Bakery chain Bengawan Solo will reopen 40 of its 44 shops next Tuesday after a three-week break. Three of its outlets in Changi Airport and one in Takashimaya department store will remain closed.

The company, which usually begins preparations for its cakes the night before, will have to rush its production on opening day as the manufacturing of food items such as cakes and confectionery will be allowed to resume only on Tuesday.

Its director Henry Liew said: "We'll have to start baking really early in the morning and might have a limited number of products for sale on the first day."

Mr Ng Whye Hoe, group managing director of Pet Lovers Centre, said online sales have increased tenfold over the past two weeks as pet owners running low on food and supplies have overwhelmed its e-commerce site.

At the start of its store closures, the backlog of orders resulted in delivery delays of up to a month, though this has since been cut down to two weeks, he said.

Grooming services should be allowed to resume too as they are essential for dogs, he said. "They're allowing hairdressers and barbers to reopen, but the risk of transmission from grooming is lower than that of humans going for a haircut."