Essential Services and their related supply chains are exempted from the suspension.

Essential services include those involved in the provision of food and essential health items to the public.

Food suppliers (including food manufacturing, food processing, and food caterers), food retail (including supermarkets, convenience stores, wet markets), and food & beverages outlets (including restaurants, hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts), and pharmacies will remain open.

However, F&B outlets can only offer take-away and deliveries only; no dining in is allowed.     

For the full list of essential services, click here.

These businesses are required to submit details of their plans to operate with enhanced safe distancing measures in place at https://covid.gobusiness.gov.sg by end of 13 Apr

All other business, social, or other activities that cannot be conducted through working from home shall be suspended.

Non-essential entities that are able to continue to operate their businesses (in limited or full capacity) with their employees working from home should continue to do so.

MOM officers will begin enforcement operations from 7 April to ensure that only businesses who are exempted from the suspension are operating from their workplace premises.

For entities providing essential services

All activities that can take place through telecommuting must be done from home.

For workplaces that need to be open, employers must implement safe distancing measures to reduce physical interactions by:

• Reducing the need for and duration of physical interactions;

• Staggering working hours;

• Postponing all group events ; and

• Implementing shift work and/or split team arrangements

For employers with affected workers:

For employees who cannot work from home or at their workplace premises, employers should work out with them clear salary and leave arrangements.

Such arrangements should take into consideration the government support for wages and any subsidies for training. More on support for businesses here, and support for workers here.

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My company’s activities are not listed as an essential service, but we support an essential service that is listed. What should I do?

If your company supports an essential service, please submit an application through https://covid.gobusiness.gov.sg by 13 Apr. You will need to provide details such as the names of the essential firms and the goods and/or services that you provide to these firms. MTI will respond to you within 48 hours if you are allowed to continue operating during the suspension period. You can continue with your support of the essential service while waiting for the response if you have safe distancing practices in place.

Can my company continue to operate if I adhere to safe distancing and other precautionary measures (e.g. mandatory temperature taking, submission of travel declarations)?

All non-essential activities outside the home shall be suspended during this period. Where employees can perform their work by telecommuting from home, the employer must ensure that they do so. Special attention should be paid to vulnerable employees (e.g. older workers, pregnant workers, and those with underlying medical conditions) to enable them to work from home, including temporarily redeploying these employees to another role within the company that is suitable for working from home.

Only essential services companies are permitted to operate in their premises from 7 April to 4 May.

What happens if my company is unable to pay employees’ salaries due to the suspension of activities?

The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will help enterprises retain their local employees during this period of uncertainty. All active employers, with the exception of Government organisations (local and foreign) and representative officers, are eligible for the JSS. For more details, please visit the IRAS website at www.iras.gov.sg or call the hotline 6356 8233.

Can I go back to my office to pick up personal items?

Try to refrain from all non-essential travel to reduce the possibility of transmissions. Non-essential activities outside the home should be suspended during this period in order to bring the transmission rate down effectively.

If I see a non-essential business continue to operate even though it is not supposed to, what should I do?

Please report this business, including providing relevant details such as its name, address and relevant evidence (e.g. photographs) to Covid_GoBusiness@mti.gov.sg

For more FAQs, click here