A Fish Called Avalon’s Safety Procedures
MIAMI BEACH MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
Limit staff and customers to a maximum of 50% of capacity with the maintenance of social distancing of 6 feet between parties*.
All persons working in or visiting an establishment, including but not limited to airports, seaports, and mass transit facilities and vehicles, shall wear a facial covering as described in Emergency Order 20-20, except that facial coverings shall not be required:
Additional PPE may be required of persons engaged in specific activities as described in the Miami-Dade County Handbook
Under no circumstances shall an employee or contract who tested positive report to work at an establishment until that employee is cleared by a medical professional as being COVID-19 free
Limit capacity of elevators to ensure social distancing
Comprehensive cleaning of facilities must be performed each night and include thoroughly disinfecting all frequent touch points and emptying all trash receptacles using solid waste bags that are double-bagged and securely sealed
Reduce seating in breakrooms/common areas to ensure minimum 6’ physical distance and where possible, establish a single point of entrance
Reservations are strongly encouraged.
- Customers must wait outside of the business (practicing social distancing) or in their cars until they are called to be seated
Eliminate the use of common water fountains and interactive displays
FACILITY PREPARATION
Must develop and implement plans as appropriate to address any parking garage or other facility access points leading to restaurant entrances
Must have self-dispensing hand sanitizer or handwashing station at the entrance to the restaurant and throughout the property
Health & safety signage/visual aids with messaging similar to that on Miami-Dade County’s New Normal website must be posted for customers and staff with easy visibility to all intended audiences. Signage should promote hand hygiene and physical distancing and request customers not to enter the restaurant if they are unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms; Translate into all relevant languages
All restaurants must create visible floor markings for appropriate 6-foot distancing for each party in any waiting areas, whether exterior or interior
Must introduce plexiglass barriers at tills and counters as an additional level of protection for staff
OPERATIONAL PREPARATIONS
1. Numbers of staff that test positive for the virus and follow an established protocol* for managing the consequences resulting from each positive individual
The team will maintain:
Communication with managers of different units within the restaurant (Cooking staff, waiters, busboys, hosts, and if relevant, valet service members (valet service should be avoided for the first phase)
Contact information on staff, including emergency telephone numbers (ideally cell phone numbers) and e-mail addresses
Physical or electronic logbook of training of staff including date of training, type of training (noting the amount of time of training) and continuing training
Cleaning task checklists must be created and used daily to ensure enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures are uniformly followed by each shift.
Regular announcements should be made reminding employees and customers to follow physical distancing and to wash their hands
Capacity limitations:
Any indoor restaurant operation must be limited by the Governor’s Executive Order, but no more than 50% of its building occupancy with the maintenance of social distancing of 6 feet between parties*. Any outdoor seating must maintain similar distancing, but in no event may the combined indoor and outdoor operation exceed 100% of its legally permitted building occupancy. All bar counters must remain closed to seating.
A per table party limit of 4 persons must be maintained whether seating is indoor or outdoor unless the members of the party are from the same household. When parties are from the same household, tables may seat up to 6 persons. Restaurants must also make reasonable accommodations to party sizes to accommodate guests with disabilities such as allowing additional seating for health care aides. Whenever possible, it is recommended to have a maximum of 4 persons for 100 square feet (10 square meters)Tables must be arranged such that the distance from the back of one chair to the back of another chair shall be at least 6 feet apart and guests shall face each other from a distance of at least 3 feet (3 foot of internal table distance does not apply to parties consisting of one household unit).* In order to facilitate compliance with these distancing requirements, restaurants must establish a procedure to inquire from arriving parties whether or not they consist of one household unit. It is recommended that seating configurations be prearranged to ensure that parties reporting themselves as being from different households are seated at tables accommodating the 3-foot internal distancing requirement.
EMPLOYEE PROCEDURE GUIDELINES
Training and operating with all necessary health & safety protocols
Staff working in restaurants must be provided with written instructions and training on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 per existing Florida Department of Health literature (see Miami-Dade County’s New Normal website)
Staff who are unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19 must not be at work and must be informed about how to contact medical professionals*
*This is imperative because if an infected worker handles food, it is possible that they could introduce the virus to uncooked food they are working on, or onto surfaces within the food business, by coughing and sneezing, or through hand contact. Also, in the case of COVID-19, it is not uncommon that infected people may be asymptomatic or presymptomatic and may not display any signs or symptoms of disease or may present with mild symptoms that are easily overlooked. Some infected people, not yet displaying symptoms, are contagious and capable of spreading SARS-CoV2 (the virus responsible for COVID19).
Health Screening Questions
The manager (or designee) must ask every employee the following health screening questions before each shift to help identify any symptoms of COVID-19*
Have you experienced a fever of 99.5 °F (37.5°C) or higher, cough (any kind, dry or productive), sore throat, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties, fatigue, chills, muscle pain, headache, or loss of taste or smell since your last shift?
Restaurants may elect to take employee temperatures prior to their entry into the facility. Thermometers must be single use or touchless/infrared and should be kept in a cool place and out of direct sunlight.
Employees must not enter restaurants prior to the self-reporting of acceptable temperature readings or the taking of their temperature by restaurants electing to take employee temperatures.
Handwashing and Need for Increased Frequency of Handwashing
Restaurants must facilitate easy hand cleaning with soap and water between tables by servers and other staff. This can be done by either:
Installation of permanent or portable touchless faucets, liquid soap dispenses and paper towel dispensers with easy accessibility within dining areas is recommended (this is in addition to existing bathroom facilities).
Gloves
Glove use is to be reserved for employees involved in direct food preparations as defined by existing industry regulatory standards* (traditionally back of house staff), but also includes bussers and food runners.
Do NOT touch mouth, nose or eyes when wearing gloves
All gloves must be changed frequently, at least every 30 minutes or when changing tasks
Gloves must be changed after carrying out non-food related activities, such as opening/closing doors by hand, and emptying bins
Hands must be washed between glove changes and when gloves are removed.
Removal of disposable gloves can lead to contamination of hands. Safe glove removal procedures may be found at https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/poster-how-to-remove-pdf.
Disposable gloves are not a substitute for handwashing. **
*Wearing disposable gloves can give a false sense of security and may result in staff not washing hands as frequently as required. The COVID-19 virus can contaminate disposable gloves in the same way it gets onto workers’ hands. Handwashing is a greater protective barrier to infection than wearing disposable gloves.
** KNOW that viruses and bacteria will build up on the surface of the hands even when you wear gloves, so handwashing is critical when gloves are removed to avoid subsequent contamination of food.
Employee Social Distancing Measures
Limit the number of staff in a food preparation area at any one time
Organize staff into working groups or teams to facilitate reduced interaction between groups
Stagger workstations on either side of processing lines, so that food workers are not facing one another
Space out workstations, which may require a reduction in the speed of production lines
Provide PPE such as face coverings, hair nets, disposable gloves (in food preparation areas) per existing industry regulations. Use of PPE is routine in high-risk areas of food premises that produce ready-to-eat and cooked foods. When staff are dressed in PPE, it is possible to reduce the distance between workers from 6 feet to 3 feet. Any breach of the 3-foot distance between workers must not exceed 15 consecutive minutes per incident. An individual must be specifically assigned within the kitchen to monitor incidents of close contact
Frequency of surface cleaning and sanitizing must be increased for all common areas and frequent touch points
General Hygiene
Kitchen areas must have handwashing stations fully equipped with soap and self- dispensing paper towels.
Wash and frequently sanitize items such as ladles, tongs and condiment holders
Washing of dishes, silverware, and table linen:
All dishes, silverware, and glassware must be washed and disinfected in a dishwashing machine, including items that have not been used, as they might have been in contact with the hands of guests or staff
If for any reason manual washing is required, the usual steps must be followed (wash, disinfect, rinse), taking the maximum level of precautions. Drying must be carried out using disposable paper towels. Likewise, tablecloths and napkins should be washed in the usual manner
Laundry: All table linen will be washed at high temperatures and per CDC guidelines
Textiles, linens, and clothes should be put in special, marked laundry bags and handled carefully to prevent raising dust, with consequent potential contamination of surrounding surfaces or people
Manager’s Office: Must be disinfected with every shift change, with particular attention to high touchpoints (mouse, keyboard, ).
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE GUIDELINES
CUSTOMERS MUST WEAR FACE COVERINGS AT ALL TIMES UNLESS SEATED AT A TABLE.
Front Door
Hands-free sanitizer must be available at the entrance. Front door must be operated using one or more of the following:
Employ a door person to open and close doors for Doors must be disinfected and wiped down doors every 30 minutes (self- opening doors do not require this frequency of wiping)
Provide wipes/paper towels to customers at entrance and exit for individual use along with trash receptacle. Trash must be disposed of regularly and must be contained in a bin with a touchless lid that opens without the need to touch the lid. Doors must be disinfected and wiped down every 30 minutes
Host Stands must be operated as follows:
Hand sanitizer must be available at the host stand
Host staff must maintain social distance from the customer as escorting to the
Mints, toothpicks and other articles must not be provided as self-service. If individually wrapped, they can be provided at the table
Where possible, parties must wait in vehicles for their tables. Host stand waiting areas must contain visible floor markings as noted above for appropriate 6-foot distancing for each party in any waiting areas, whether exterior or interior
Restaurant Staff Regulations
Any employees approaching tables must wear face covering
Gloves must be worn by bussers and food runners; as noted above, any other staff not wearing gloves that places or removes food or objects from a table while patrons are sitting at the table must wash their hands before, after and between each physical encounter with a guest table (where the table or its contents were physically touched)
The server must maintain maximum social distance feasible while interacting with customers
The number of staff approaching tables should be minimized
No self-service by customers
Table Setting must conform to the following*
All menus must be disposable and single-use, or the menu can be provided on a web page/QR code that the customer can be instructed to view on their personal device. Signage should instruct the customers on the use of internet and web page
If silverware is not disposable, only roll-ups will be allowed. Employees providing cutlery to patrons must wash hands before handling cutlery and placing at tables. No open cutlery is permitted as a preset
No water/wine glasses are permitted as presets
No condiments or breadbaskets are permitted as presets (but may be made available after the party is seated)
All condiments must be single use
Tables and chairs must be sanitized mechanically, using an EPA approved disinfectant that is safe for the furniture, after each party’s use or, if not used, every 60 minutes*The presentation or setting of single-service and single use articles and cleaned and sanitized utensils shall be done in a manner designed to prevent the contamination of food and lip-contact surfaces. As per FDA Food Code 4-904.13
Except as specified in (B) of this section, tableware that is preset shall be protected from contamination by being wrapped, covered, or inverted
Preset tableware may be exposed if:
Unused settings are removed when a consumer in seated; or
Settings not removed when a consumer is seated are cleaned and sanitized before further use
Order Taking at Quick Service Restaurant Counter/Window
Screen shields: When proper social distancing cannot be ensured, acrylic barriers must be installed
Kiosks: Must be sanitized after each guest use or, if not used, every 60 minutes
Utensils: Must be made available at the front counter All utensils must be wrapped (no self-service)
Drinks: Must be made available at the front counter only (no self-service). New cups must be provided for each refill
Food packaging: All food must be packaged to-go and trays will not be available
Payment
Check presenters must not be used
Any necessary payment devices must be sanitized after each use. Provide wipes so that each customer wipes the device on use
Restroom
Must be maintained as single-use for Phase 1 – opening period (with exceptions for special needs guests).
Surfaces: Must disinfect high touch surfaces hourly (door handles, cubicle closures, sink) levers, manual dispensers, air dryers (if applicable), etc.
Any surfaces that become soiled with respiratory secretions or other body fluids, g. toilet, handwashing basins must be cleaned with a regular household disinfectant solution containing 0.1% sodium hypochlorite (that is, equivalent to 1000 ppm).
Surfaces must be rinsed with clean water after sufficient contact time for the The clean water rinse should happen after 10 minutes contact time for chlorine.
Whenever possible, use only disposable cleaning materials
If a known or suspected COVID-19 person used the restaurant restroom, discard any cleaning equipment made of cloths and absorbent materials (e.g. mophead and wiping cloths)
When pertinent, disinfect properly non-porous cleaning materials with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution or according to manufacturer’s instructions before using for other rooms
Guest Handwashing: Must maintain adequate levels of hand soap, paper towels and hand sanitizer (if applicable). If paper towels are not provided, the restaurant must install a hands-free door pull (elbow or foot-operated). The preferred drying method is recommended to be self-dispensing
Trash: Must have a trash can by the door if paper towels are used. The trash bin must have a lid, and the lid should open without the need to handle (touch) the lid. Trash and sanitary trash must be discarded
Exit
Guests must wear face covering that covers the mouth and the nose as they leave their tables
Guests must maintain social distancing as exiting the restaurant
The restaurant must wipe down door handles with each exit (or mirror applicable entry procedures noted above) as guests exit
Provide a separate exit from the entrance if feasible and mirror the applicable entry procedures stated above