Fri, Jul 09, 2021 page1

• Guidance issued on easing restrictions

  DINING IN: Restaurants can provide dine-in services for individuals if panels or other measures are used for social distancing, the Food and Drug Administration said

  • By Kuo Hsuan-hsuan, Chiu Chih-jou, Chen Hsin-yu, Cheng Wei-chi, / Staff reporters, with staff writers
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  In line with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) partial easing of COVID-19 curbs yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) released guidelines for restaurants, the tourism sector and national scenic areas.

  A level 3 COVID-19 alert, which was applied nationwide on May 19, has been extended until July 26, but some disease control measures can be eased, the center said yesterday.

  From Tuesday next week, restaurants can provide dine-in services for individual customers if panels or other measures are used for social distancing, the FDA said, adding that tables should be 1.5m apart and customers given a maximum of one hour to eat.

  

  A person relaxes in a park in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  As service is to be limited to individuals, group meals should be divided into individual portions before serving, it said.

  Restaurants offering alcoholic drinks would have restricted hours, it added.

  Bar seating should be cordoned off and dividers must be in place at all tables, the FDA said, adding that restaurant staff must ensure that customers are not seated directly next to each other.

  If an establishment has been frequented by individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, it must close down for at least three days, disinfecting the premises twice daily, the FDA said.

  The restaurant cannot provide dine-in services until 11 days after reopening, it added.

  Traditional and night markets should increases measures to limit the flow of people entering and leaving, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) said, adding that stalls should promote contactless payment methods to decrease the risk of spreading infection.

  Dining areas at night markets would also need to separate tables by 1.5m and use dividers, he added.

  Eating while walking is prohibited under the level 3 pandemic alert, and all foodstuffs should be prepared and handled by stall owners, he said.

  Chen called on local governments to use these policy points to establish regulations that would reduce the risk of infection while ensuring the livelihood of stall owners.

  Meanwhile, the transportation ministry said that restrictions would be eased at 13 national scenic areas and 25 amusement parks.

  Scenic areas and amusement parks are to register visitors for contact tracing, enforce the wearing of masks and ensure social distancing between seating, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯) said.

  Smoking and eating while walking are banned, and watersports would remain suspended until further notice, he said.

  Recreational facilities at scenic areas and parks would reopen, with services offered by reservation, he said.

  Indoor venues under the ministry’s responsibility must have separate entrances and exits, to limit contact among visitors, and limit crowds to 40 percent of their capacity, or one person per 0.6m2 of floor space, he said.

  Service at venues would end at 4pm, while indoor exhibitions and multimedia auditoriums would remain shuttered for now, he said.

  Dining facilities with enough floor space for customers to social distance must offer individual portions, not shared dishes, while those without adequate space would be limited to offering takeout, he added.

  Domestic group tours of no more than nine people — including guides and other personnel, but not including the drivers — could resume operations, Chen said.

  The groups must prepare sanitizer, masks, and ensure that customers practice social distancing when riding and dining, he said.

  Sanitizer and temperature readers must be used every time the group boards or disembarks from a vehicle and at every destination, he said, adding that rooms should be limited to two people.

  Restaurants along railways, the high-speed rail, and at freeway rest areas can reopen if they comply with pandemic guidelines, he said.

  Dining is limited to one hour, and restaurant staff must enforce the rules, he added.
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