SINGAPORE: A recent spike in COVID-19 cases has spurred some businesses to implement additional measures to deal with labour shortage and ensure customer safety.

These include hiring more part-time workers, engaging sanitisation services and putting in place protective equipment for staff and customers.

Singapore’s health authorities said on Tuesday (May 13) that the estimated number of COVID-19 cases rose to 14,200 in the week of Apr 27 to May 3, up from 11,100 cases in the previous week.

With more people falling ill, businesses like restaurants and transport firms told CNA they are looking to ensure they have adequate labour for their operational needs.

EXTRA HANDS IN THE KITCHEN

A seafood restaurant said two of its chefs fell ill from COVID-19, leaving the dining establishment understaffed ahead of the busy Mother’s Day holiday period last week.

The House of Seafood, located in Punggol, looked to hire experienced part-time chefs to help cope with a full house of patrons as it battled an employee shortage.

Ms Feng Ying, a supervisor at the restaurant, told CNA that they sought temporary chefs that had similar experience to the ones that were ill.

She said this is to ensure that customers do not notice a drop in the quality and taste of the dishes sold by the restaurant, known for its crab offerings.

The supervisor added that it was not easy to find such skilled part-time staff during this hectic season.

“We need to raise the salary, by about 50 per cent more than usual, in order to hire them," said Ms Feng.

Other measures taken by the seafood eatery to deal with the rise in cases include extra sanitisation and disinfection efforts.

The House of Seafood has engaged sanitisation services to perform deep cleaning of kitchen equipment and common locations with a high volume of contact, like toilets and door handles.

It has also doubled the disinfection frequency for its premises to four times a day.

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

Meanwhile, transport firms like SG Bus Charter Travel & Tours have also increased sanitisation efforts and worked to ensure its drivers wear personal protective equipment.

The firm’s director Dinesh Dhillon said the company has experience operating services during the pandemic, which began in 2020.

“We were actually involved in the transportation of people coming back from overseas, going for quarantine,” he said, recalling how drivers had to wear face shields and gloves in addition to other personal protective equipment.

Mr Dinesh added that their drivers currently wear N95 masks, a practice maintained since the pandemic.

He said these N95 masks are “more than enough” for the present situation, and the company does not intend to install air purifiers onboard the buses for now.

The company’s buses and vans are also sanitised twice a day.

With staffing levels a consideration in case of illness, Mr Dinesh said the company has flexible work protocols for its employees, such as requiring administrative staff to work from home if they are ill with COVID-19.

He said there is also a contingency plan should drivers also fall ill, allowing for quick workforce adjustment.

"We have a schedule on a day-to-day basis. When … two or three or maybe four or five drivers come down … we'll just reshuffle the whole schedule,” added Mr Dinesh, who said any reshuffling will not add more shifts to the company’s drivers.

He said although none of his staff have been ill with COVID-19 this year, the company is still focused on monitoring the situation and taking precautions to keep their passengers safe.