MANILA, Philippines — Restaurants will have 50 percent seating capacity once the establishments resume dine-in operations during the “new normal,” the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Thursday. In a statement, the tourism department issued memorandum circular 2020-004 which laid out health protocols for DOT-accredited restaurants for customers, management, and employees. ADVERTISEMENTUnder the guidelines, DOT said, “maximum customer capacity will be reduced to 50 percent of the restaurant’s seating or venue capacity.”The department also ordered restaurants to provide personal food safety apparel and training, and annual check-ups for their employees. DOT also required customers to “wear masks, accomplish health declaration forms, undergo temperature checks, and practice proper handwashing, physical distancing inside the restaurants. The guidelines also included “pick-up or take-away zones for customers, and improvements to the establishment’s table and seating arrangement, customer queueing, order-taking, and payment systems.”The tourism department also encouraged restaurants to shift to cashless transactions.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 11, 2020 08:48 UTC