New CDC guidelines to help restaurants reopen

Businesses should close break rooms. Restaurants should consider disposable menus and plates. Schools should have students eat lunch in their classrooms.

These are some of the recommendations offered in new  plans from the U.S. federal government designed to help restaurants, schools, churches and businesses safely reopen as states look to gradually lift their coronavirus  restrictions.

The draft guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sent to Washington, but still could be revised before the Trump administration unveils it to the public. The recommendations were obtained from a federal official who was not authorized to release them publicly.

The CDC put together so-called “decision trees” for at least seven types of organizations: schools, camps, childcare centers, religious facilities, mass transit systems, workplaces, and bars/restaurants.

The guidelines say restaurants should consider using throwaway menus, single-service condiments, and disposable forks, knives, spoons, and dishes. They should install sneeze guards at cash registers, limit the number of employees on a shift, and avoid having buffets, salad bars, and drink stations.

Larry Lynch, the National Restaurant Association's Senior Vice President for Science and Industry says the new guidelines address many health and sanitation issues that are already covered by the food code.

"The food code, obviously, tries to keep you from gaining foodborne illness, but it even talks about sick employees staying home. It recognizes that you don't want somebody with seasonal flu showing up at the restaurant."

He says he expects restaurant owners to welcome the guidelines.

"They want people to come back and dine when they're given the okay and when they feel that they're ready. And they're they're absolutely serious about making sure that the public is safe."