None of the nightlife establishments which took government grants to pivot to food and beverage (F&B) services are to date part of the growing KTV Covid-19 cluster, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said during a virtual media conference yesterday.
The cluster, linked to a number of KTV lounges here, hit 120 cases yesterday, with the multi-ministry task force tackling the pandemic warning that many more cases will likely emerge in the coming days.
All nightlife establishments here have been closed since the circuit breaker last year. Task force co-chair Lawrence Wong said that following the closures, the Singapore Nightlife Business Association appealed to the Government for help.
In response, the authorities offered such establishments a grant to either exit the business, or pivot to F&B or other commercial uses, said Mr Wong, who is the Finance Minister.
Mr Gan, who is also a task force co-chair, said that about 18 nightlife establishments received the grant specifically to pivot to the F&B business.
"The investigation is still on-going, but none of those that have been picked up for violation have received any of the grants," he said.
Mr Wong said that about 400 operators became F&B outlets. It was announced yesterday that this group would have to suspend their operations for two weeks as an additional layer of precaution as a result of the KTV cluster.
The minister said: "The onus is very much now on the Singapore Nightlife Business Association and its members to show us that they can get their act together and behave properly."
Nightlife operators were unhappy over news of the suspension.
Ms Francesca Way, co-founder of A Phat Cat Collective, which runs two bars along Tanjong Pagar Road that now operate as F&B outlets, feels that the authorities should specifically focus on hostess-driven businesses.
"Even if nightclubs and the KTVs are closed, the problem (will continue with) social hostesses in massage parlours and private hotel gatherings, rather than at food and drink-centric outlets," she said.
She added that establishments which have been compliant all along may now be unfairly impacted.
"It hardly seems fair that these guys are affected too when the clientele is wildly different from the errant KTVs and other hostess-centric businesses. We are just trying to make an honest living by operating as a regular dine-in space," she said.
Mr Flint Lu, founder of HaveFun Karaoke, which has six outlets islandwide, said the suspension might make things worse for the already struggling nightlife industry.
"We do understand the Government's decision," said Mr Lu, whose KTV business is aimed at families. The chain has pivoted to F&B and cinema operations.
But he questioned the effectiveness of a blanket suspension, pointing out that the cluster had formed despite KTV lounges not operating for the last 16 months.
Mr Lu added: "We are not meeting customers' social entertainment needs by providing them with an outlet, and this has led to them looking for entertainment elsewhere."
Despite not being affected by the suspension as it is a co-working and study space, Teo Heng KTV studio called on the authorities to reconsider their decision.
Its director Jean Teo said: "We were promised things like the pilot programme which was put on hold in January, and then we looked forward to reopening in end August... I hope the authorities will examine the situation to see which areas they should look into instead of penalising everyone."
