The Government will extend more support to both businesses and workers during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period, announced Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on 28 May 2021.
Some of these measures include enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for affected sectors such as F&B and sports, and a new grant for low- and middle-income workers.
The Government implemented tighter restrictions, from 16 May 2021 to 13 June 2021, to curb the spread of COVID-19 community cases.
“COVID-19 is likely to be around for some time, and we will all have a role to play to develop more resilient strategies to adapt to this new environment. The Government will continue to help businesses and individuals to adapt and transform, and create and seize new opportunities. In the private sector, enterprises themselves will need to take a sustainable and collaborative approach to strengthen their industries in the face of major disruptions,” said Mr Wong at a virtual press conference.
For sectors that had to suspend activities such as F&B, performing arts and education, and sports, the Government will enhance the JSS support from 10 per cent to 50 per cent from 16 May–13 June 2021.
Other sectors that did not need to suspend operations but were impacted by the heightened measures will have their JSS payouts increased to 30 per cent from the current 10 per cent. These sectors include retail, cinema operators, and museums.
However, some retailers like supermarkets, convenience stores and online retailers will not be eligible for the enhanced support.
Meanwhile, the Government will introduce the COVID-19 Recovery Grant (Temporary) scheme to provide one-off support for lower- to middle-income employees and self-employed persons who have been impacted by the tightened measures.
Individuals who experienced at least one month of involuntary no-pay leave or income loss of at least 50 per cent for at least one month during the period between 16 May 2021 and 30 June 2021 will qualify for the grant.
Eligible individuals placed on involuntary no-pay leave may receive a one-off payout of up to $700, and those experiencing significant income loss may receive a one-off payout of up to $500.
The Government will open applications on 3 June 2021. Applications will close on 2 July 2021.
As announced by the Ministry of Transport on 21 May 2021, taxi and private hire car drivers will receive support from the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund payout from 16 May 2021 to 30 June 2021. The drivers will receive a payout of $750 per month for each vehicle, up from the $450 previously.
Hawkers will also receive support during the heightened period. As announced by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment on 22 May 2021, the Government will fully subsidise the fees for table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing services for around 6,000 cooked food stallholders in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators during the no dine-in period.
According to Mr Wong, the additional support package will cost the Government $800 million in total and there will be no additional draw on past reserves.
“Our circumstances today are very different compared to last year. Under such a circumstance, I do not think we should be going to the President to seek permission to draw on our past reserves. In fact, we must expect to run into situations like these from time to time, when we experience an occasional outbreak of cases in our community, and we will then need to tighten restrictions temporarily to control the spread of the virus.
“So, we will have to learn to adapt to such situations, using our own resources rather than to dip into our past reserves. And it is on that basis that we are able to set aside some funds for this package,” said Mr Wong.
