Summary of measures to "open restaurants" both in shopping malls and Stand Alone

By now, almost all types of restaurants have opened. Only pubs and bars are still waiting for the final time. However, all of them are not fully open because they still have to comply with the regulations of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and various government measures. There are many regulations and there are differences in the details for restaurants in shopping malls and restaurants outside shopping malls. There may still be some confusion among business owners. Therefore, we will summarize the measures and provide recommendations for restaurants in shopping malls and stand alone. Let's see again what's there.

Summary of measures/recommendations for opening restaurants in shopping malls and stand alone according to the CCSA's regulations, which were announced on the Royal Gazette website on May 1, 2020, includes the following sections related to restaurants:

Key control measures - Clean floors and frequently touched surfaces both before and after providing services and dispose of waste daily. - Have business operators, service personnel, and service users wear face masks or cloth masks. - Provide hand washing stations with soap or alcohol gel or disinfectant. - Leave a distance between tables and seats, including a distance of at least 1 meter while walking. - Control the number of service users to prevent overcrowding.

Additional measures - Have screening measures for symptoms of illness, fever, cough, sneeze or cold for business operators, service staff and service users according to their capabilities. - Reduce the time of activities to be as short as necessary by adhering to the principle of avoiding physical contact. - Refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages in food establishments. - Provide a waiting area with seats or standing at least 1 meter apart. - May add measures by using mobile phone tracking applications as appropriate or use control measures by recording data and reporting in some areas. Both the main measures and additional measures of the CCSA are applicable to both restaurants in shopping malls and stand-alone restaurants. The restaurants that will continue to be locked down are pubs and bars. All of these are basic practices that all types of restaurants must follow. Now let's look at the measures and requirements of Bangkok Some (however, the requirements of each province may differ, but the basics must be under the main measures and the measures of the CCSA and there may be more stringent measures)

Measures of the Bangkok Communicable Disease Committee - Restaurants: Arrange seats 1.5 meters apart. - The shop must check the temperature of all staff and customers. - Queues to buy food must strictly keep a distance of 1.5 meters. - Shabu, sukiyaki and grilled restaurants do not allow customers to cook their own food. They must order food and have staff serve it. - Rice and curry restaurants must provide transparent sheets between customers and food trays. - Buffet restaurants do not allow customers to help themselves. They must order from a menu. - Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the shop and customers cannot bring alcoholic beverages to consume in the shop. - The shop must provide hand sanitizer, clean the restrooms every 1 hour, and clean tables and chairs with disinfectant after every customer use. - Air-conditioned shops must stop ventilating every 2 hours for cleaning. Post a sign showing the cleaning schedule in front of the shop. - Staff must wear masks or cloth masks, face shields, gloves, and aprons, and wash their hands every time before cooking and serving customers.

 The Department of Health is another agency that has issued guidelines for restaurant operators, food handlers, and buyers/consumers who use the service. The details are as follows:

Guidelines for Business Operators - Arrange for screening of business operators, food handlers and buyers by observing or asking about symptoms or using a body temperature meter. If a fever, cough, sneeze, runny nose or shortness of breath or a body temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher, it is recommended to see a doctor. - Everyone must wear a cloth mask or surgical mask at all times when using the service. - Measures to distance between people, stalls, tables and seats for eating, shopping and paying for products of at least 1-2 meters. - Provide enough hand washing facilities with soap and water or alcohol gel for customers. - Clean the floor of the food preparation/selling area, tables and seats for eating, and frequently touched surfaces with a cleaning solution or disinfectant before and after providing service every time. If providing bathrooms or toilets, focus on risk areas such as the bidet handle, toilet seat, toilet flush, urinals, faucets, sink faucets, locks or doorknobs, etc. - Measures to prevent food contamination, such as ready-to-eat food must be tightly covered, stored at least 60 centimeters above the floor, and food must be reheated every 2 hours. Use utensils for picking up or scooping food. By separating cooked food, raw food, vegetables and fruits, do not place any type of food directly on the floor, do not let buyers use bare hands to pick up ready-to-eat cooked food, use food containers that are appropriate for the type of food, etc. - Arrange the environment in the food sales area, such as providing proper ventilation, providing enough containers/equipment for eating for each person, such as food plates, spoons-forks, drinking glasses and serving spoons (for individuals), providing disposable tissue paper, establishing a system for ordering food or reserving tables in advance, online payment systems, etc. to facilitate and reduce contact among service users. - Establish measures to reduce crowding, such as specifying the number of people per area, specifying the time spent sitting and eating, do not organize activities or provide services that cause groups of service users to gather, such as shows with people/live music performances, and refrain from selling and drinking alcoholic beverages, etc. - Provide trash containers with lids in the food sales area, collect trash and put it in trash bags and seal the bags tightly before sending it for proper disposal. - Communicate and publicize knowledge on preventing COVID-19 infection, such as wearing a mask correctly, correct hand washing steps, etc., through various channels.

Guidelines for Food Handlers and Operators - If you have a fever, cough, sneeze, runny nose, or shortness of breath, stop working and see a doctor immediately. - Wear a cloth mask or surgical mask and wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol gel before working that requires food contact every time, after leaving the toilet, and after touching dirty things. - Prevent food contamination, such as food handlers must wear an apron, hat, or equipment to cover their hair while working, prepare and sell freshly cooked food, use food containers that are appropriate for the type of food. Ready-to-eat food is tightly covered and stored at least 60 centimeters above the floor, and food must be reheated every 2 hours. Use equipment for picking up or scooping food that is separate from cooked food, raw food, vegetables, and fruits. Do not place any type of food directly on the floor. Prevent buyers from using their hands to select or touch fresh meat/ready-to-eat cooked food directly, etc. - Reduce close contact with service users, such as keeping a distance of 1-2 meters between people, having a food ordering system/reserving a table in advance/online payment, having equipment to receive money, etc. - Operators who clean and wash containers and equipment must wear rubber gloves, aprons, rubber shoes that cover their shins, and use long-handled tongs to collect trash. And put the garbage in a garbage bag, seal the bag tightly, and wash your hands thoroughly every time after working. When you finish working each day, take a shower and change your clothes immediately. Guidelines for Buyers/Consumers - Wear a cloth mask or surgical mask. If you have symptoms of illness such as fever, cough, sneeze, runny nose or shortness of breath, refrain from using services at food shops and see a doctor immediately. - Wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol gel before and after using the service. - Keep a distance of at least 1-2 meters between people. - Plan or choose a food purchase format, such as preparing a menu, ordering food in advance, choosing food and using online food delivery services for speed and reducing contact with food shops/food handlers/service users.

www.ไทยชนะ.com Platform for department stores, shops, customers, collecting data to prevent COVID. By now, many people are probably familiar with registering to enter, exit, enter stores, exit stores, enter banks, exit banks, etc. via the platform "

"Thai Chana" Which is a government platform for collecting data on department stores, shops and customers who use services to prevent COVID. If infected people are found in any area, it will be possible to know who used the infected area. To lead to tracking people for treatment or quarantine for further observation, including the system to screen the number of people entering the store and notify users. Informs of the number of users in each round whether it is full or not. Or how many more people can be accepted according to the measures to reduce crowding?

Stores can register via the website. www.thaichana.com There will be steps to follow. Follow the steps until you are finished and you will receive a QR code. Then, paste the QR code at the store or post it on the store's communication channels to inform customers so that they can scan, check in, and check out and save the data. However, the Thai Chana platform is not mandatory for stores to use. It is just a request for cooperation to use it as a part of helping prevent and reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19. In the case of shops in shopping malls, it may be necessary to follow the mall's regulations. All of this is a summary of measures/recommendations for opening restaurants, both in shopping malls and stand-alone. The secrets that must be followed are the main control measures and additional measures of the CCSA, including the prohibitions of local agencies. For example, Bangkok. As for other measures, it depends on the potential of the operators to implement them in order to increase confidence for customers to use the service. The more confident the customers are, the better it is, increasing the chances of sales. Click here to read other articles.