Spit Guards Instead of Masks for Hawkers and Food and Beverage Handlers Working at Stalls at Coffee Shops and Hawker Centres

Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider allowing hawkers and food and beverage handlers to use spit guards instead of masks when operating in stalls at coffee shops and hawker centres.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires all personnel engaged in the preparation and sale of food and drinks to wear a mask or spit guard while working, to prevent them from coughing or sneezing onto and contaminating the food.

While SFA has allowed the use of spit guards since April 2020, this was superseded by the national mask-wearing mandate under the COVID-19 (Control Order) Regulations. Currently, it is a requirement for all individuals to wear masks in indoor settings, and this applies to most food handlers, as they usually prepare food and drinks within an enclosed environment. Mask wearing is mandatory in hawker centres unless the individual is drinking or eating. Mask-wearing remains vital in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and we encourage everyone to continue to exercise social responsibility by masking up in all indoor settings for their own safety. Should the national indoor mask-wearing mandate be lifted in future, SFA will allow food and beverage handlers operating indoors, including in hawker centres and coffeeshops, to have the flexibility of wearing either spit guards or masks as was the case pre-COVID.