Since the start of the week, we have been able to finally gather in groups of 8 for social gatherings. Amidst these new guidelines, we found that there is plenty of confusion among the various parties. Here are 3 key points that we think might be relevant to our partners and users 🙂
1. Fitness studios can admit up to 8 + 1 instructor even if they do not meet the facility capacity.
The confusion for the above came from this SportsSG guideline which says that all sports and recreational facilities could only allow for 8 sqm per person or 50 pax, whichever is lower. We found that quite a lot of yoga studios, especially those on the smaller side, expected that they could only admit maybe 5 or 6 customers per session as they might be operating a studio that is only 40 or 50 square metres. However, we combed through the FAQ from SportSG and found this.
Here, it states that facilities can admit up to 8 people, excluding staff even if it does not meet the 8 square metres per person quota. However, do keep note that 8 is the max and not more people can be admitted in. The link to the FAQ can be found here.
2. We can now gather in groups of 8 for workshops
When Phase 3 was first announced, the groups of 8 was only announced in all media outlets that it was for social gatherings, with little or no mention for the purposes of cultural activities such as dance or art classes. We have been monitoring the National Arts Council official website and found that they have updated the Phase 3 requirements recently as below:
- Limit group size to no more than eight participants (excluding one instructor).
- More than one group of eight may be permitted in the same room, as long as there is:
- At least 1 metre spacing between all groups;
- No physical interaction or intermingling between different groups;
- No more than 50 persons in a single room.
As such, artists and teachers can now organise their classes in groups of 8. However, do note that activities that involve singing or mouth instruments have stricter guidelines. For more, please check out the link to the National Arts Council website here.
3. 1 metre for masked activities, 2 metres for physical activities, 3 metres for high intensity exercises. (1.5m for low intensity yoga classes)
As a general guideline, the above holds true. We found that there was a lot of confusion over which activities qualifies under the 1 metre distancing. In general for workshops. there can be 1 metre between groups. However, for yoga:
The above is a list of the minimum safe distance for yoga exercises. Dance classes would fall under 2 metres if unmasked. For physical activities, groups of up to 8 (2 metres among each individual is needed) can be organised but groups have to be 3 metres apart from each other.
That sums up most of the key areas of confusion that we have found. We’ll be monitoring and sharing with you the latest updates as Phase 3 moves along. Have a good end to the year and a great 2021!
