Relief as restaurants relatively unscathed in new health restrictions

• Restaurants can keep 100 per cent capacity
• Restricted movement between tables

The restaurant industry is happy its able to remain open with 100 per cent capacity after new public health measures were introduced in British Columbia Friday.

“The only thing we have to make sure is that we don’t have table hopping and or people that are mingling and mixing,” Dan Tostenson, President and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association (BCRFA) told Kelowna10.

“That gives us a lot of operating runway to create a wonderful experience for everybody for the holiday season and not have the restrictions that we had last year. So, it’s a real improvement, we’re really happy.”

Among a slew of new restrictions ahead of the holidays to stem the spread of COVID-19, restaurants have to restrict movement between tables and reinforce the need to wear masks when not seated.

“We’re really a managed environment where we can manage the number of people, the number of drinks, the sanitation, the hygiene,” Tostenson said. “We wouldn’t want to close that during a pandemic. People need to have that social outlet.”

Tostenson said he’s proud of those in the restaurant industry for staying strong and allowing the public to be confident about eating at restaurants safely.

He said Dr. Bonnie Henry wants to see more scanning of vaccine passport QR codes. Restaurants have the option to either scan or look at the passports, but scanning ensures an extra level of safety.

“I think the government’s done a really good job at being very reasonable,” Tostenson said.