Restraints on restaurants will get even more relaxed under a new health directive that goes into effect Saturday.
The Shelby County Health Department issued a new health directive Wednesday and goes live at midnight on March 20th.
Here are the key changes:
• Increase in number of people at tables to 8 instead of 6.
• Persons seated together must be of the same family unit or close contact group.
• Bartenders are encouraged to wear a face shield or double mask while serving multiple groups at the bar, but are not required to do so.
• Operating hours for dine-in service ends at 1 a.m. (customers may stay until 1:30 a.m. to complete meal/payment arrangements).
• Two-hour limit for food service is removed.
• Any location that serves beer or alcohol must serve food as required by state law (and have a permit to do so).
• Removes the requirement of maintaining contact tracing records.
The changes come thanks to the improving COVID-19 situation in Shelby County, health officials said, though the virus remains a threat.
“These revisions are deemed allowable now because our community has experienced reduced transmission of the virus for a period of greater than 14 days,” reads a statement from the health department. “Viral reproductive rate in Shelby County is currently estimated at 0.84 and has remained less than 1.0 since early January. Case numbers have continued to decline since early January. Weekly COVID-19 test positivity rates are the lowest they have been since October.”
The health department also made some changes to the face mask directive.
Here they are:
• Medical or procedure grade masks are recommended but not required.
• Coverings made of suitable layered fabrics are acceptable but scarves, ski masks, and balaclavas are not substitutes for masks.
• Persons who cannot medically tolerate wearing a face covering are not required to wear a face shield, and no person declining to wear a face covering because of a medical condition is required to produce verifying medical documentation.
