A few restaurants and fast food places have been approved by the Department of Health and COVID-19 Task Force to offer dine in services.
They first have to submit a plan to the Department of Health and COVID-19 Task Force for review and approval. Prior to the latest emergency declaration which was issued last month, dine in services were strictly prohibited. Just take outs.
With restaurants now allowed to accept dine in customers, there’s still a gray area about serving alcohol in restaurants that are licensed to serve alcohol.
The declaration does not say anything about the serving of alcohol being barred. But bars are on the list of prohibited businesses.
It came as a surprise to restaurant customers sitting down for dinner or lunch at restaurants that normally sell alcohol to be told that they can’t order wine, beer or their favorite drink of alcohol variety.
But during Mother’s Day weekend, certain eating establishments did serve alcohol, as the owners said they were not given any specific instructions when they were approved for dine-in services that they couldn’t.
Two members of the COVID-19 Task Force said, this was discussed at a meeting this week and instructions have been given to notify all restaurants that have been cleared for dine in services that the sale of alcohol is not permitted, just food and non alcoholic drinks.
An unhappy customer shared his thoughts with KHJ News on the issues.
“I don’t understand it. If it’s not in the Declaration some agency just starts making up new restrictions? How does choice of beverage make dining in a restaurant make one more or less likely to catch COVID?”
