With eight Washington counties now approved to move to Phase 2 under Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen the state, the governor’s office on Monday released a set of requirements restaurants will have to comply with if they want to reopen for dine-in service.
Stevens, Wahkiakum, Skamania, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Columbia, Garfield and Lincoln counties have all been cleared for Phase 2, which allows restaurants to reopen at 50% capacity, and caps table sizes at five.
Notably, the 13 criteria that restaurants will have to adhere to in order to reopen for dine-in service includes a stipulation that they “create a daily log of customers and maintain that daily log for 30 days, including telephone/email contact information, and time in.”
This is to aid in any contact tracing, should that become necessary.
Under other Phase 2 rules, hand sanitizer must be available to employees and customers, restaurant tables must be placed far enough apart that guests at one table can maintain a 6-foot distance from guests at another, it is “strongly suggested” that customers wear a cloth face covering any time they are not seated at the table, buffets and salad bars are not allowed, and menus and condiments must all be single-use. Bar seating is not permitted.
In addition, restaurants are required to screen employees for signs of COVID-19 at the start of every shift.
Each employer also needs to designate a COVID-19 supervisor to monitor the health of employees and enforce the job site safety plan.
The state mandates that all restaurants demonstrate they can meet all requirements laid out in its COVID-19 safety plan before they will be allowed to reopen.