PHOENIX — Arizona restaurant owners have been hungry to reopen for dine-in services for months after the Gov. Doug Ducey's executive order to stay home and stop the spread of COVID-19.
The state green-lit dine-in services to begin May 11 and provided restaurants a list of Center for Disease Control guidelines to protect workers and customers.
CDC Guidelines include:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, under all circumstances, the following precautions should be followed by restaurants providing dine-in:
• Consider assigning duties to vulnerable workers that minimize their contact with customers and other employees.
• Enforce hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes.
• Develop standards for the use of non-medical grade masks or cloth face coverings by employees when near other employees and customers.
• Ensure adequate supplies to support healthy hygiene practices for both employees and customers including soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol (perhaps on every table, if supplies allow), and tissues.
• Consider posting signs on how to stop the spread of COVID-19, properly wash hands, promote everyday protective measures, and properly wear a face covering.
• Intensify cleaning, disinfection and ventilation practices.
• Wash, rinse, and sanitize food contact surfaces, food preparation surfaces, and beverage equipment after use.
• Avoid using or sharing items such as menus, condiments, and any other food. Instead, use disposable or digital menus, single-serving condiments, and no-touch trash cans and doors.
• Wipe any pens, counters, or hard surfaces between use or customer.
• Train all employees in the above safety actions.
The Department of Health Services recommends the following additional steps be taken by restaurants:
• Maintain physical distancing, including limiting parties to no more than 10.
• Operate with reduced occupancy and capacity based on the size of the business location with special attention to limiting areas where customers and employees can congregate.
• Implement comprehensive sanitation protocols, including increased sanitation schedules for bathrooms.
• Continue to provide options for delivery or curbside service even if a location offers dine-in.
• Implement symptom screening for employees prior to the start of their shift. • Consider offering masks to wait and host staff.
• Restaurants should sanitize customer areas after each sitting with EPA-registered disinfectant, including but not limited to: Tables, tablecloths, chairs/booth seats, table-top condiments and condiment holders. Any other surface or item a customer is likely to have touched and avoid instances where customers serve their own food.
Arizona still does not meet the White House and CDC proposed State or Regional Gating Criteria to “satisfy before proceeding to phased comeback."
Notably missing is a downward trajectory of influenza-like illness reported within a 14-day period and a downward trajectory of COVID-like syndromic cases also reported within a two-week timeframe.
There are now 11,380 positive COVID-19 cases in the state, increasing by more than 2,400 cases since last Friday. Positive cases continue to grow in the Navajo Nation who are now with 100 coronavirus related deaths.
Not all restaurant owners are reopening for dine-in.
"When I'm ready, then I'll reopen my shop. When I feel it's safe for my staff and customers then I'll open," said Erin Westgate, Owner of Song Bird Cafe Coffee & Tea in downtown Phoenix.
For eight years the cafe coffee house has been a favorite for ASU students and locals. Westgate has remained open, taking walk-up orders from the cafe's side door. She question's the state's decision and says the push to reopen shouldn't be driven by economic pressure. "I understand businesses are at risk, but if the numbers of infected people start rising again then we're worse off than we are now."
Arizona Public Health Association, Dr. Will Humble says businesses need to take reopening seriously or the virus will continue to spread.
"You better be ready with the mitigation measures when you do reopen because people are going to be looking for that," said Humble.