As Phase Two gets underway, NC restaurants not required to report coronavirus outbreaks
As North Carolina entered Phase Two of its reopening plan Friday, Dr. Mandy Cohen said restaurants are not required to report coronavirus outbreaks or clusters tied to those establishments.
This comes on the same day Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new initiative to train hospitality and retail workers as a way to help increase consumer trust in these businesses.
“There are certain industries that are regulated in terms of required to report to us,” Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said during a press briefing. “The restaurant industry is highly regulated and we continue to do inspections. But in terms of reporting outbreaks, that would be two or more cases or reporting clusters that would be five or more cases, restaurants are not one of the industries that are required to report back to us.
“We often do want those restaurants to get back in touch with our public health departments if there is an issue, because we want to work in close collaboration with them to make sure they’re doing all the right things to prevent further spread of the infection. But there are just a few industries that are required by law to report to us. Those are settings like nursing homes.”
The initiative Cooper announced, called “Count on Me NC,” is voluntary and free online training. The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association put together the pledge, where restaurants promise to follow certain sanitation and safety guidelines and diners are expected to stay at home if they’re symptomatic, The News & Observer previously reported. Restaurants taking the pledge will put a “Count on Me NC” sign at their entrance and a logo on their website.
Cooper said 3,500 people representing more than 1,800 business have completed the training so far.
“This innovative effort is possible because of the strong and longstanding partnerships we have with industry and our universities,” Cooper said.
NC in Phase Two of reopening plan
On Wednesday, Cooper announced that North Carolina will move into a “modest” approach to Phase Two of its reopening plan, called “safer at home.”
While the modified plan lifts the state’s stay-at-home order, and allows restaurants and personal care services to open at 50% capacity, it prohibits businesses like gyms, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues from opening.
Most counties are easing restrictions, but restaurants, salons, and barbershops in Durham are not opening just yet. Durham has its own, more strict order and those businesses won’t reopen until June 1.
Durham ranked third among the state’s 100 counties in confirmed coronavirus cases.
Since developing a plan to ease restrictions, the state has continued to meet three of its four intended benchmarks related to how the coronavirus is spreading throughout the state.
According to state officials, the number of people hospitalized by the virus has remained stable. The number of people presenting with COVID-like symptoms at hospital emergency departments and the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 have decreased.
However, the number of lab-confirmed cases continues to rise. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 758 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday.
The state attributes that to an increase in testing. DHHS data showed that there now have been 21,618 total confirmed cases of the virus after a total of 303,224 tests, or a positive rate of 7.1%.
Opening of restaurants, salons, barbershops, pools
The continued increase in positive coronavirus cases concerned state officials enough that they decided it was best to not open certain businesses in Phase Two.
“This is because the potential spread of COVID-19 can be significant there,” Cooper said Wednesday.
Cooper’s executive order allowed restaurants, hair salons and barbershops to open Friday at 5 p.m. Some swimming pools also will be open for the holiday weekend, although with restrictions. Employees at personal care businesses must wear face coverings.
When asked if he would personally feel comfortable eating inside a restaurant this weekend, Cooper said “yes.”
“I would certainly want that restaurant to be following all of the personal safety rules and doing everything they can to prevent the transfer of COVID-19,” Cooper said. “But we hope that people will feel safe enough to go to our restaurants throughout the state.”
Health guidelines coming for youth sports
North Carolina will also issue recommendations Friday on the return of high school and youth sports, Cohen said. She said the state is not recommending that contact sports go forward because of the higher risk of spreading the virus among those athletes.
“Non-contact sports we said that that is fine to proceed from a recommendations perspective,” Cohen said. “But we do have some guidance on how to do each of those activities safely. So we’re not recommending contact sports go forward but for non-contact sports to go forward.”
The N.C. High School Athletic Association put sports on hold when Cooper ordered pblic schools closed in mid-March. Cooper said the new guidelines were developed with the help of groups like the NCHSAA.
“I grew up participating on sports teams all the way through high school and I know how important they can be for the education of children,” Cooper said Friday. “This is something that we want to have happen as much as we can as we approach the school year.
“At the same time, we have to understand the presence of COVID-19, and I don’t think that we have all of the answers to those questions yet.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 2:20 PM with the headline "As Phase Two gets underway, NC restaurants not required to report coronavirus outbreaks."
