Ridgeland Parks and Restaurants Re-open On May 7, 2020 with Safeguards

Governor Tate Reeves amended his executive order to allow dine-in at restaurants across the state. The amendment comes with the following safety guidelines from the Governor’s Office.

From and after 8:00 a.m. on May 7, 2020, Paragraph I(h)(vii) of Executive Order 1477 is amended to allow restaurants and bars to resume in-house (indoor or outdoor) dining subject to the following limitations:

I. Prior to resuming in-house dinning, the entire restaurant and bar, including areas not open to the public, shall be deep cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized.

II. Restaurants and bars shall set hours of operations to close to the public no later than 10:00p.m.

III. Pursuant to Paragraph I(h)(ii) of Executive Order 1477, restaurants shall take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the Mississippi State Department of Health’s and CDC’s regulations, orders and guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including, but not limited to: social distancing; sending sick employees home; actively encouraging sick employees to stay home; separating and sending home employees who appear to have respiratory illness symptoms; adopting and enforcing regular and proper hand-washing and personal hygiene protocols; and daily screening of employees for COVID-19 related symptoms before beginning their shifts.

IV. Restaurants and bars shall conduct a daily screening of all employees at the beginning of their shifts. Such daily screening shall include the following questions, and any employee answering any question in the affirmative shall be sent home:

1. Have you been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days?

2. Are you experiencing a cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat?

3. Have you had a fever in the last 48 hours?

4. Have you had new loss of taste or smell?

5. Have you had vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours?

V. All employees shall be required to report any symptoms of COVID-19 to their supervisor, and any employee who exhibits any of the symptoms of COVID-19 during their shift shall be sent home immediately and advised to consult with their physician.

VI. Appropriate PPE shall be worn by all employees based on their duties and responsibilities and in adherence to state and local regulations and guidelines. Every employee who comes into direct contact with customers shall be provided a cloth mask and required to wear that mask while on duty.

VII. All employees shall be provided training regarding minimizing the spread of COVID-19, including the importance of frequent hand washing and personal hygiene, proper sanitation, cough and sneeze etiquette, use of PPE, and safe food handling procedures.

VIII. Where possible, workstations should be staggered so employees can avoid standing next to each other. Where separation of workstations is not possible, the frequency of surface cleaning and sanitizing should be increased.

IX. Break rooms shall be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, and the number of employees in the break room shall be limited to allow for strict social distancing (a minimum of six feet between employees and no gathering of more than ten employees).

X. The number of customers in the restaurant or bar shall be no greater than 50% of seating capacity.

XI. Floor plans shall be updated to ensure at least six feet of separation between each party/group whether dining indoor or outdoor. Party sizes shall be limited to a maximum of six customers per table.

XII. Bars or bar areas that do not o er food services shall remain closed, and live music shall not be permitted.

XIII. The use of technology solutions to minimize person-to-person contact is encouraged, including mobile reservations systems, text upon arrival, mobile ordering, and contactless payment options.

XIV. Signage shall be posted at each entrance stating no customer with a fever or other symptom of COVID-19 is permitted in the restaurant or bar.

XV. Customers shall be screened for illness upon their entry into the restaurant or bar.

XIV. Customers shall not be allowed to congregate in the waiting area or bar area. The restaurant shall adopt a process to ensure that a minimum of six feet separation is maintained between customers while waiting to be seated or in the bar area.

XVII. All front-of-house high contact surfaces shall be sanitized, at a minimum, every two hours.

XVIII. The use of disposable menus is encouraged. All non-disposable menus shall be sanitized between each use.

XIX. Tables, chairs, and tabletop items shall be sanitized after each table turns.

XX. Buffet Service:

1. Self-service buffets, food stations, and drink stations are prohibited.

2. Cafeteria style (worker served) bu ets and food stations are permitted with appropriate barriers in place.

XXI. Hand sanitizer shall be placed at all points of entry and exit, the hostess station, in or near the bathrooms, and at the cashier station.

XXII. All food service areas shall be deep cleaned daily.