'Need to check if they're vaccinated or not?' Redditor spots cute plushies ensuring safe distancing in Tampines cafe

A cafe in Tampines 1 has developed an ingenious and less 'passive-aggressive' way to ensure diners adhere to group size limit of two as per Covid-19 safe distancing measures.

A Reddit post on Wednesday (Oct 13), with almost 600 upvotes, by Familiar-Mouse4490 showed a photograph of deer plushies 'dining in' at The Alley cafe, which were strategically placed in seats marked with a cross sign.

A spokesperson from The Alley told AsiaOne that they started placing more Deeristas – the bubble tea chain's brand mascot – in their store around the circuit breaker period last year to encourage more people to mask up. 

"We wanted to use the Deeristas to lift the mood when everyone was weary about the virus. By doing so, we hope to make our customers leave the store a little happier," the spokesperson said. 

From the comments in Reddit, it is clear that netizens were in love with the adorable meal companions.

One netizen enquired if the plushies needed to get the jab like human patrons before dining-in at the cafe. 

Meanwhile on Instagram, some diners shared snaps of themselves enjoying a drink in their company of these plushies — some of them had face masks on.

Humans dining-in with soft toys might be the 'new normal' during the coronavirus pandemic with other similar and quirky social distancing measures found around the world.

Last year, a restaurant in Bangkok decided to use stuffed pandas to fill chairs that should not be occupied due to social distancing. 

According to the Ministry of Health, unvaccinated individuals will no longer be able to visit shopping malls and dine-in at all food and beverage establishments, including coffee shops and hawker centres.

Children under 12 are exempted from the latest vaccination-differentiated measures, which will kick in after the one-week grace period starting Wednesday.

chingshijie@asiaone.com