Zouk to close until May 10, just days after its reopening

SINGAPORE - Just days after its grand reopening, Zouk, the grande dame of Singapore's nightlife, announced it will be closed for the next nine days.

On Sunday (May 1), the iconic nightspot said on Instagram that it would shut its doors at midnight until May 10, but did not give details on why it was closing.

Zouk said: "The safety of our guests is a priority. We have stepped up safety distancing measures and doubled our security to ensure this."

"We look forward to welcoming you back to Zouk on May 11. In the meantime, stay safe and take care."

When Zouk reopened its doors on April 20, long queues of clubgoers formed outside its premises in Clarke Quay.

The club had announced previously that it will operate every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10pm to 3am.

Although Zouk can admit 1,500 people at 75 per cent of its capacity under Covid-19 safe management measures, it has decided to cap its nightly crowd size at 500 for now.

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All clubs must ensure that safe management measures, such as mask wearing and safe distancing, are adhered to on their premises.

All patrons of nightlife establishments where there is dancing must also present a negative antigen rapid test result obtained from a Ministry of Health-approved test provider.

The test must be done before entering the premises, or at most, 24 hours before the end of the activity.

Nightlife outlets found to have breached these safe management measures can be ordered to close or issued fines.

For non-compliance with safe distancing measures, those found guilty may be jailed for up to six months, fined up to $10,000, or both.

Last Friday, the police said in a statement that two outlets were issued closure orders after they were found to have breached safe management measures.

Those included failing to check the vaccination status of patrons and minimise physical interactions between customers and staff.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the police confirmed that Zouk was not one of the two outlets ordered to shut.

On Sunday, Zouk said that those who have paid for tickets for that night may use them to enter sister establishment Phuture, a hip-hop space in Clarke Quay.

They may also opt for an open ticket to Zouk, which will be valid on all days the club is operating until May 31, except for guest DJ nights. Refunds can also be made upon request at enquiries@zoukclub.com.

Zouk added that its other establishments - Capital Kitchen, RedTail and Phuture - will remain open for business as usual.

• Additional reporting by Anjali Raguraman

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.