SINGAPORE - People who prepare or serve food may soon have to wear spit guards or masks when handling food to prevent contamination and stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is working with food shop operators and the coffee shop and hawker centre associations to implement this move as part of the SG Clean campaign to lift hygiene standards, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said on Thursday (April 2).

Workers will also be taught the proper way to dispense utensils.

Dr Khor told reporters at Newton Food Centre that more than 3,700 hawker and market stalls have been awarded the SG Clean quality mark since the certification scheme was launched in February this year.

She urged people to do their part by practising good personal hygiene and complying with safe distancing measures that are in place at the 114 hawker centres, such as keeping 1m from others while queueing and sitting only on unmarked seats at eating places.

Dr Khor noted that about 60 per cent of hawker patrons were complying with the measures and said more need to do so to be effective in containing the spread of Covid-19.

On Wednesday (April 1), safe distancing measures were extended to the 83 wet markets managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and NEA-appointed operators.

On Thursday, Dr Khor urged the public to visit the markets during off-peak periods, such as weekdays, or early mornings before 7.30am if they have to go on a weekend.

"For the elderly, I would like to urge them not to go to the markets. Get a family member to the market or do grocery shopping as far as possible," she said.

"Because they are most vulnerable to the virus, we do want to protect them and get them to take the extra precaution."

SG Clean ambassadors and volunteers will guide people on safe distancing at hawker centres and wet markets from this weekend. NEA said it will also start a trial to control entry and exit points at Serangoon Garden Market on Saturday (April 4).

On Thursday, 14,000 care packages were also given to hawker centre stallholders as part of a tie-up NEA has with Unilever International.

They include cleaning products, a thermometer and a log book for hawkers to monitor their health.