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California Announces Major Shift

by David Klemt

California is planning for a major shift in Covid-19 protocols and there’s a date set against the state’s most recent announcement.

In three weeks, restaurants and bars will be able to return to pre-pandemic operations, essentially.

This stands in stark contrast to the Golden State’s initial response to the pandemic: they were the first to implement a shelter-in-place order officially.

California Covid-19 Numbers

Due to vaccination rates and other numbers, California plans to reopen completely on June 15.

As of the end of last week, California’s Covid-19 vaccination, infection and death rates are favorable. The numbers are driving the June 15 reopening.

For example, half of adult residents—those age 18 and up—in California are fully vaccinated. Nearly 70 percent have received at least a single vaccination dose.

The numbers are even higher for those who are at least 65 years of age:

Single dose: 90 percent
Full vaccination: 70 percent

California is achieving their numbers by vaccinating more than a quarter-million residents per day. Nearly 40 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered.

Most recently, the most-populous state in America is seeing a weekly Covid-19 infection case rate of approximately 1,200.

California Restaurants and Bars

What Covid-19 restrictions will California foodservice and drinking establishments operate under on June 15?

Not many.

There will be no capacity restrictions for indoor or outdoor service, nor social distancing requirements on-premise for guests. If there are no social distancing requirements, it stands to reason that guests will be able to move freely inside restaurants and bars.

However, California will follow—according to available information—the CDC’s most recent mask guidance. The agency’s recommendations pertain to those with full vaccinations.

Of course, operators still have the right to keep some or all of their own Covid-19 protocols in place. Indeed, some team members and guests may feel safer if masks and social distancing remain past June 15.

Operators who plan to maintain Covid-19 protocols need to provide staff and the public that information. Also, operators must keep in mind that guest-facing employees will be in the crosshairs if mask and distance requirements remain. It would be wise to set and announce vaccination and infection rates against the rescinding of such protocols and share those numbers.

Image: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

Ontario F&B Workers Petition for Phase 2

by David Klemt

A petition on Change.org seeks to include F&B workers in Phase 2 of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Ontario, Canada.

The petition, which can be found here, is directed toward Ontario, Canada, Premier Doug Ford.

Currently, Ontario is in the midst of Phase 1 of Covid-19 vaccination.

Phase 1

Per the official Ontario Government website, Phase 1 aims to vaccinate around 1.8 million people.

The phase breakdown is as follows:

One: High-risk populations (December through March)
Two: Mass deliveries of vaccinations (April through July)
Three: Steady state (July onward)

Those eligible for Phase 1 inoculations are:

Health care workers
Adults in First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations
Adult chronic home care recipients
Congregate living for seniors
Adults over 80 years old

According to the Covid-19 Tracker Canada website, 1,116,496 vaccine doses have been administered throughout Ontario. In total, slightly more than six percent of the Canadian population has received at least one dose.

Phase 2

The second phase seeks to vaccinate approximately nine million people.

Eligible people are:

at-risk populations;
individuals with high-risk chronic conditions, and their caregivers;
high-risk congregate settings (such as shelters, community living, etc.);
adults aged 60 to 79, in 5-year increments; and
essential frontline workers who cannot work from home.

The requirement in bold should get the attention of all restaurant, bar and foodservice workers. Ontario identifies several “essential frontline workers” eligible for Phase 2. Among them are elementary and secondary school staff, police, firefighters, special constables, and social counselors.

However, high- and low-risk retail workers are on the list while restaurant and foodservice workers are not.

The Petition

Cassie MacKell is the person behind the petition to “Include Restaurant & Food Service Workers on Ontario’s Phase 2 Vaccination List.”

MacKell’s opening statement says, “I write this letter as a cry for help from the entire Food & Beverage industry of Ontario in regard to Ontario’s phase vaccine distribution plan.”

The petition’s creator goes on to say:

“As one of the hardest hit industries from Covid-19 why am I not seeing restaurants workers on this list? From the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic restaurants across Ontario have been heavily regulated and shut down by Premier Ford. Even after adhering to stringent restrictions and safety guidelines set forth by our government the framework continues to keep us closed, or only allows for limited seating capacity making it impossible for many businesses to survive.”

In closing, MacKell lays bare the situation for Ontario (and indeed all of Canada) foodservice professionals. Workers in this industry are exposed to people not wearing masks while they eat or drink; are unable to remain six feet from guests; and certainly can’t work from home.

Put bluntly, all those who work in foodservice are high-risk frontline professionals. If you agree and live in Ontario, Canada, please sign this petition.

Image: Alena Shekhovtcova from Pexels