Outdoor dining resumes at cafés and restaurants
OUTDOOR dining at restaurants and cafés resumed early this morning more than five months after the outlets were closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
At sharp midnight, restaurants and cafés reopened, allowing customers to sit outside.
Meanwhile, sheesha and dine-in services will be permitted from September 24.
There are 11,000 active commercial registrations for restaurants, cafeterias, cafés and sheesha shops.
The Cabinet’s executive committee decided in July to allow the gradual reopening of tourism restaurants, including those located in four- and five-star hotels and those authorised by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, in accordance with medical and preventive requirements.
According to the guidelines, the outlets are allowed to take reservations for special occasions not exceeding 20 people per group, provided that reservations do not exceed one each time.
Restaurants and café personnel should wear gloves and face masks at all times, tables must be placed two metres apart from all sides, drinking straws, food sticks and wrapped toothpicks must be used, and surfaces in contact with food must be cleaned and disinfected after each use, in addition to other measures related to food and drink preparation.
The inspection directorate is gearing up to launch its control campaigns, said Industry, Commerce and Tourism under-secretary for control and resources Abdulaziz Al Ashraf.
The directorate continues to implement decisions concerning precautionary measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 as part of Team Bahrain, and co-ordinates efforts with authorities concerned in this regard, he added.
The new measures, as part of a further easing of restrictions enforced in light of the pandemic, follow a decision also in July to open gyms, outdoor fields and swimming pools on August 6.
Parliament financial and economic affairs committee chairman and Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry board member Ahmed Al Salloom said businesses were already gearing up to reopen after the announcement was made in July.
“The current situation is safe due to public awareness but people need to abide by the rules and regulations,” added the chairman of the Bahrain Small and Medium Enterprises Development Society.
Barber shops and salons, which were also closed in March, were allowed to reopen in May under strict regulations that limited their services.
Meanwhile, training institutes will also reopen today.
Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/851305/Outdoor-dining-resumes-at-caf%C3%A9s-and-restaurants
