SINGAPORE - A $650 million support package will be rolled out for businesses affected by the latest round of tightened Covid-19 curbs.

       The new measures are expected to run from next Monday (Sept 27) to Oct 24.

       The package includes wage subsidies and rental waivers.

       1. Enhancement of Jobs Support Scheme

       The scheme, which provides wage support to help businesses retain their local employees, will be enhanced for sectors significantly affected by the tightened measures.

       These include food and beverage establishments, retail outlets, cinemas, museums, art galleries, historical sites, family entertainment venues, tourism sites, gyms and fitness studios, as well as the performing arts and arts education sectors.

       These sectors will receive 25 per cent in wage support over the tightened period.

       2. Rental waivers

       A two-week rental waiver will be given to qualifying tenants on government-owned commercial properties.

       Eligible tenant-occupiers and owner-occupiers of privately owned commercial properties will also be given a two-week rental relief cash payout under the Rental Support Scheme.

       Rental support will also be provided to cooked food and market stallholders in centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators.

       The Rental Support Scheme was announced in May this year to support businesses on rental costs. The second payout for the second phase two (heightened alert) period started on Sept 22.

       3. Extension of Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund payouts

       The extension of this fund, which was initially slated to end on Sept 30, will see taxi drivers and private-hire car drivers receiving support of $10 per vehicle per day in October and $5 per vehicle per day in November.

       This extension will cost an additional $23.5 million and is expected to benefit about 50,000 drivers.

       The fund was kicked off in January this year to provide sector-specific support for taxi and private-hire car drivers affected by Covid-19, and had been extended several times due to Covid-19 curbs.

       Read next: Dining in capped at two, WFH the default among 6 key changes as S'pore tightens Covid-19 measures from Sept 27

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