Butter Factory reopens its doors Clubs confident H1N1 won't hit business hard

POPULAR dance club The Butter Factory the only club to shut its premises in the wake of an Influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak reopened its doors yesterday after one week.

The closure came after an employee contracted the virus. The club's premises then underwent a 12-hour-long disinfection process.

But, despite the fact that 43 cases have been linked to Butter to date, its management is confident that business will not be seriously affected.

Executive chairman Tay Eu-Yen told my paper yesterday: "Most people felt we made the right move (by closing) and have said that they will come back.

"Singaporeans are well-informed about the situation, so I don't think they are being reckless (by continuing to club)."

The three-year-old establishment, which moved to its new One Fullerton premises in March, has taken a cue from other outlets in implementing new measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Apart from increasing the frequency of temperature checks on its employees which number up to 80 from once to twice every six-hour shift, it will also conduct temperature screenings at the door for all clubbers.

Ms Tay said: "We are also looking into dividing our operations team into two, so that they will have minimum contact should one team fall ill."

Club operator LifeBrandz, which has 10 nightspots under its management, including Clarke Quay's Zirca and Lunar, is also confident that it would not see a dip in crowd numbers.

The company's chief executive, Mr Bernard Lim, said: "Clubbers are still going out on week nights and weekends to unwind and have a good time.

"They are appreciative of the precautionary measures taken at our doors and, to many of them, life still goes on, albeit with some precautions taken."

Attendance has been "healthy" at all 10 LifeBrandz establishments, with "business operations in full swing", he said.

Only "a handful" of patrons with fever have been turned away since LifeBrandz clubs implemented temperature checks last Friday.

Over at Zouk in Jiak Kim Street, business has been steady. Fewer than 10 people have been refused entry for showing signs of illness, since the same measures were introduced last Tuesday.

Ms Mari Muramoto, Zouk's marketing manager, said: "We have not seen a significant drop (in customers) so far.

"With measures in place, we are operating all the planned events and activities as usual, and we hope those measures will help to maintain a consistent (level of customer) attendance."

Besides temperature checks on everyone entering the premises from customers to suppliers and contractors posters on basic preventive measures provided by the National Environment Agency are also displayed prominently on the premises.

LifeBrandz's Mr Lim is optimistic.

"The situation is not like Sars when many businesses were affected at the outset. I believe it will not be as severe as Sars even if the situation worsens," he said.