1984: Washington Reopening Plan Will Require Restaurants to Keep Log of Customers for Contact Tracing

The State of Washington is outlining reopening guidelines for restaurants that require the establishments to retain a logbook of customers for the purpose of coronavirus contact tracing. Eight counties within the state were authorized Monday for ‘phase two’ of a state reopening plan, which sets forth thirteen regulations for restaurants that will be permitted to reopen with 50% capacity and a table limit of five.

Restaurants in authorized counties are also being required to “create a daily log of customers and maintain that daily log for 30 days, including telephone/email contact information, and time in.

The efficacy of this micromanaged contact tracing method is questionable, considering that it’s possible it could harm attempts to practice social distancing. How will smaller restaurants manage a situation in which their patrons have to line up and fill out a detailed entry in a logbook, using materials that other people have touched?

Restaurants are being required to demonstrate that they can obey the thirteen coronavirus reopening guidelines before resuming their business operations. Tables must be placed in a manner that allows all customers to maintain six feet of distance between patrons of another dinner party, and hand sanitzer must be readily available.

Micromanaging the already regulated ongoings of daily life would seem to be a surefire way to discourage the public from following measured and moderate social distancing and disease prevention rules.

 

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