DTI bares protocols for dine-in restos

Customers at dine-in restaurants will have to wear masks, step on a foot bath, fill out a health checklist with their names and phone numbers, and make contactless payment upon finishing their meal.

In a presentation during a virtual meeting of the House trade and industry committee on Friday, Department of Trade and Industry officials showed the panel members a glimpse of how restaurants would be operating under the relaxed community quarantine as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said a recent review of the protocols showed they were “satisfactory, reasonable and doable by any size of business in the industry.”

Among the guidelines are: At the entrance, there’s a no mask, no entry policy. Before entering, customers must stand on a foot bath with disinfectant. Guards will check their temperature with thermal scanners and provide spray-on alcohol.

Upon entering, customers will be given a health checklist with their names and contact details “in case contact tracing becomes necessary.”

Social distancing must be observed on the premises, with regular sanitation of tables and chairs at 10-minute intervals between customers.

There must be at least 1-meter distance between tables and chairs on all sides.

Floors must have markings to guide patrons in queuing. There must be proper ventilation through an efficient air exhaust system.

Pieces of furniture made of porous materials should be covered in plastic for easy sanitation.

No personnel with COVID-19 symptoms or with previous exposure to COVID-19 patients shall be allowed to work.

Workers shall not be allowed to wear jewelry and expose body piercings. They must observe proper hygiene, including washing their hands frequently.

They should wear personal protective equipment, including face masks, face shields or clear eye goggles, gloves and hair caps, and closed shoes. Self-service, including refill stations, is highly discouraged. Buffets and salad bars are highly discouraged as well.

There must be no physical contact during payment. Personnel should use small trays for accepting cash. Restaurants should offer alternative modes of payment, including credit cards and digital wallets.

The government is also mulling a possible accreditation system that would allow barbershops, salons and other personal care establishments to reopen despite the community quarantine

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases was still studying the matter and that no decision had been made yet.

“They might be allowed, but there will be a system of accreditation,” Roque said in an interview over GMA-7’s “Unang Hirit.”