Food Newsletter - COVID-19; 3/27/2020

CLARK COUNTY FOOD NEWS

March 27, 2020 Special Issue

Dear Food Safety Partners,

This message is intended to provide an update on the current COVID-19 situation as it pertains to retail food establishment operations and provide you with references and resources as efforts to contain the spread of disease continues. Thank you for your efforts to safely provide food resources to the community throughout the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak. We'll be doing all we can to help support those efforts.

Is your business open?

Please let us know if you are offering take-out and/or delivery services by pressing "We're Open!" button

We're Open!

Social Distancing and Enforcement Officers

Businesses remaining open during this time are required to provide social distancing for employees reporting to work. Additionally, businesses remaining open are required to monitor and enforce social distancing within their businesses. Food establishments very likely need to temporarily change their business operations to meet these requirements!

What's Required? Social Distancing and Public Health Criteria Handout

6 feet separation between employees
6 feet separation between guests
Appointing a social distancing officer to remind staff and guests to adhere to the social distancing protocols

Suggestions

Use tape on the floor and on walls every 6 feet to provide guests and staff a visual reminder.
Stagger work shifts so that fewer employees are needed to report to work at one time.
Modify menus to minimize the amount of prep work needing done
Reduce the number of staff scheduled to ensure 6 foot separation between staff can be maintained.

Encourage pre-orders
Post signs to let guests know you're looking out for the health of your employees by reducing the number of staff reporting to work; wait times may be longer.
Consider having guests wait in their car or outside for their orders to be ready. Be sure to mark 6 foot separations outside too!
If your lobby can only provide 6 foot separation for a certain number of people, mark that information on the door! Example: Please, only 3 guests in the lobby at a time.
Post signs about social distancing and good general hygiene reminders. This is a good one: How Can I Prevent Getting COVID-19?

You are not required to have your social distancing plan reviewed but you are responsible for having a plan in place, enforcing your plan, and communicating your plan to Food Safety staff when requested.

Guest waiting areas

On-site consumption of food and beverages are clearly prohibited in Governor Inslee's proclamations aimed at reducing the spread of the COVID-19 illness. This means you may not offer guests a beverage of any kind while they await their take-out orders. Governor Inslee's proclamation did not directly address waiting areas. Offering guest seating is discourage! If you choose to offer seating of any kind, remember that it is your responsibility to provide for, and enforce, social distancing requirements.

WE RECOMMEND REMOVING ALL SEATING AREAS

If you choose to offer seating while guests wait for to-go orders, remember that you are responsible for enforcing the 6 foot social distancing requirements. This is for indoor and outdoor seating areas. Two things to consider before offering seating:

Do your staff have time to monitor seating areas?
Do your staff have time to thoroughly sanitize seating areas after each guest leaves?

Many businesses have stacked tables and chairs on top of each other to eliminate seating or creatively blocked entrance to the dining room. Food establishments offering seating have moved tables at least 6 feet apart and have staff designated to thoroughly sanitize tables and chairs between guests.