Washington’s Phase 2 restaurant dining: parties of 5, face coverings, no bar seating
Gov. Jay Inslee issued guidance for partially resuming the dine-in restaurant and tavern industry for counties granted variance under the Safe Start Phase 2 recovery plan laid out last week.
Through the Washington “Safe Start” plan, more businesses and activities will re-open in subsequent phases with adequate safety and health standards in place. Each phase will be at least three weeks — metrics and data will guide when the state can move from one phase to another.
Through the Safe Start approach, counties with a population of less than 75,000 that have not had a new case of COVID-19 in the past three weeks can apply for a variance to move to Phase 2 of “Safe Start” before other parts of the state. County variance applications will be approved or denied by the secretary of the Department of Health. Eight counties have received the variance.
All businesses are strongly encouraged to require their customers to use cloth face coverings when interacting with their staff.
Here are the general procedures for dine-in service.
▪ Hand sanitizer should be available at entry for all staff and patrons (assuming supply availability).
▪ No bar seating is permitted during Phase 2.
▪ If the establishment does not offer table service, they must have protocols in place to ensure adequate social distancing at food and drink pick-up stations, and seating within their dining area.
▪ All parties and tables must be five guests or less.
▪ Guest occupancy must be 50% of maximum building occupancy or lower as determined by the fire code. Outdoor seating is permitted but must also be at 50% capacity. Outdoor seating does not count toward the building occupancy limit.
▪ Tables must be placed far enough apart when measured from occupied chair to occupied chair, to ensure dine-in guests seated at a table are a minimum of 6 feet away from guests at adjacent table, or there must be a physical barrier or wall separating booths or tables.
▪ It is strongly suggested customers wear a cloth face covering anytime they are not seated at the table.
▪ Buffets and salad bars are not permitted at this time but may be addressed through subsequent interpretive guidance.
▪ If the establishment offers table service, create a daily log of all customers and maintain that daily log for 30 days, including telephone/email contact information, and time in.
▪ Single-use menus are required for in-person dining.
▪ Any condiments typically left on the table must be single-use or sanitized after each use.
▪ Restaurants must have implemented a plan to ensure proper physical distancing in lobby/waiting areas/payment counters.
▪ Minimize the number of staff serving any given table.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 9:52 AM.
