Environmental Sanitation (ES) Regime
A series of gastroenteritis outbreak, which affected several pre-schools and eldercare facilities in late 2018/early 2019, along with the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of good environmental hygiene in preventing the transmission of infectious diseases.
From 30 July 2021 onwards, baseline environmental sanitation (ES) standards will be made mandatory for specified premises, starting with higher-risk premises with vulnerable occupants and/or high footfall such as coffeeshops, community care and eldercare facilities, food centres and markets, food courts and canteens, preschools, schools, social service facilities, specified shopping malls, and student care centres. The list of gazetted specified premises and their implementation dates are listed in the Environmental Public Health (Designation of Specified Premises) Order 2021 and the Environmental Public Health (Designation of Specified Premises — Shopping Malls) Order 2022.
The ES regime builds on existing hygiene and sanitation measures already practised by the various sectors and premises; and aims to move towards a co-regulatory approach where all stakeholders take accountability and ownership of the ES standards within their respective premises.