Get the latest edition of our COVID-19 Operating Guidance

According to FoodCoVNET, of the small number of restaurants that reported COVID-19 outbreaks among staff, 55% had provided no COVID-19 mitigation training to employees. Let the National Restaurant Association help you train your teams.

As the restaurant industry reopens more fully with warmer weather and rising vaccination rates, it’s critically important that you take the time to walk your employees through the best practices that are proven to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. 

The National Restaurant Association continues to provide the most up-to-date guidelines to support today’s on- and off-premises dining. The information is a result of collaboration with safety experts including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

This updated COVID-19 Operating Guidance builds on the original editions but incorporates the latest best practices and updates on: 

• Vaccinations for employees: Vaccinations are highly encouraged, and operators are even offering incentives to employees to get vaccinated.
• A greater focus on local regulations: Many cities and counties are getting closer to lower case counts and lower positivity levels and may be making decisions that could have a greater impact on their local businesses than state-mandated regulations. For example, a state may say 25% capacity is permissible, but a city within that state may elect to go to 50% because its positivity rate is low. It’s good idea to pay attention to both.
• Indoor and outdoor dining: With the growth in the number of vaccinated individuals, the CDC published a comprehensive list of actions and activities they suggest would be acceptable now.
• Surface sanitizing: The risk of picking up coronavirus from surfaces is no longer considered as big a risk as it was in the early days of the pandemic. Restaurants can consider going back to regular print menus, table condiments, etc., in lieu of using disposable versions. However, cleaning and sanitizing has always been, and still is a major part of the food code and should be continued accordingly.

Overall, well-trained team members are your best defense against community transmission and your fastest route to a quick recovery. Prepare your staff to protect your business.

And as always, the Association intends this guidance to complement the official guidelines put in place by your state and local authorities.

Download the updated COVID-19 Operating Guidance today.