Restaurants can soon offer indoor service during COVID-19, McMaster says. What to know
If you’re hungry and tired of cooking, then you’ll soon have the option to sit down inside a restaurant in South Carolina.
Gov. Henry McMaster announced on Friday that he will allow indoor dining at restaurants starting Monday, May 11, though each restaurant will determine whether to open its doors to customers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association had previously pushed to have indoor dining at restaurants by May 18. The decision from the governor’s office will now give restaurant owners time to order necessary products and supplies and hire staff, officials say.
The decision Friday lifts a previous order from McMaster in March limiting restaurants to takeout or delivery, a move meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“This doesn’t mean that everyone has to open. This means that those who want to can open,” McMaster said. “It means that that restriction has been lifted. But every restaurant owner or every manager will have to make decisions based on their customers, their clientele, their staff, the safety of their staff, the people working, the people visiting. They’ll have to make their own decisions based on their experience in their restaurant in the past.”
Restaurants will still have rules to follow if they choose to re-open, though it’s unclear if the state will take action to enforce the those rules, as McMaster said he hopes business workers and owners self-report problems.
Tables will have to be spaced at least 6 to 8 feet apart, the governor said, and the restaurants cannot operate beyond 50% of its legal capacity as determined by fire marshals. Recommendations for health checks and social distancing protocols for employees will also be issued. State officials ask that restaurants consider offering hand sanitizer to customers and remove condiments from tables, only providing them upon request.
None of those safety measures, however, are required.
“These are not laws, they are recommendations,” McMaster said. “And we are taking this step in opening up the 50% inside based on the presumption and the hope that people will follow these recommendations. They are a lot of them and if they follow them, then things should go very smoothly. But if situations arise where the customers or the staff or the business owners themselves see dangerous conduct taking place, then we expect them to say so and do something about it.”
Last week, McMaster began allowing outdoor seating at restaurants with restrictions, including tables being at least 8 feet apart and with groups of eight or less people. However, there were reports of people flooding some areas and not always following social distancing guidelines, forcing some restaurants to close early, a tactic McMaster mentioned Friday as an example of ensuring safety if things get out of control.
Allowing customers inside is “Phase 2” of re-opening restaurants, McMaster said. “Phase 3” could mean allowing establishments to reach 100% capacity, he added, depending on the rate of compliance observed and incoming data. During Friday’s press conference, however, state epidemiologist Linda Bell said the data being monitored relates to the community as a whole and isn’t specific to restaurants.
Health officials and McMaster have said the data indicates that the state’s epidemic curve — the number of daily new cases of COVID-19 — is plateauing. The number of total cases is expected to rise in the coming weeks and months as testing is ramped up, though officials hope the proportion of positive cases to tests performed overall drops off.
“As the percentage positive goes down, that tells us we are more adequately sampling in the population because we’re not testing the sickest people,” Bell said.
As for now, Bell said the government is “following the data and taking a measured approach to re-openings,” even though guidance from the CDC recommends such actions not be taken before measures are in place to contain the virus or when there has been a sustained reduction in new cases.
Also on Friday, McMaster lifted restrictions on boating that he previously put in place, but added the caveat that law enforcement still has the power to break up groups of three or more people if they are deemed a threat to public health.
McMaster said he hopes to announce plans for businesses that require close contact, such as salons and barber shops, on Monday. As more and more re-opening plans are announced, Bell urged residents to be careful.
“People can take measures to protect themselves as we open and resume some normal activities,” she said. “I can’t over-emphasize the importance of practicing those measures. So regardless of the businesses that are open and activities that are allowed in public, people must continue to practice social distancing, wearing a mask and good hygiene. Otherwise they put themselves at risk, and they put the rest of us at risk for ongoing disease transmission in our community.”
The Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Friday that an additional 238 people have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 7,367 South Carolinians. There have also been 320 deaths in individuals with COVID-19.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
