One Diner Per Table Suggestion Causes Confusion, Concern

Original Michael Wester theBeijinger

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A statement that small restaurants should limit diners to one per table made at Thursday's city government press briefing on the coronavirus crisis has caused concern and confusion among Beijing's restaurant owners and foodies.

A closer look reveals that this is not necessarily a new mandate, but some areas of town have already interpreted it as such.

The Beijing Youth Daily's (app.bjtitle.com) headline on the story states the one per table rule was among 10 "suggestions" (建议 jiànyì), whereas the Beijing News (bjnews.com.cn) used the term "requirements" (要求 yāoqiú). A full video of Thursday's press conference can be viewed below, with remarks on restaurants beginning at the 36:55 mark.

Regardless of what was said, some restaurants and property management companies, particularly those in malls, are taking the announcement as gospel and already enforcing a one person per table restriction.

Sun Xingui, the deputy chief physician of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was called on at Thursday's presser to answer a question on what small restaurants (小餐馆 xiǎo cānguǎn) should do to ensure epidemic control.

Sun’s response was couched in somewhat vague language, as well as being a mixture of advice aimed directly at restaurant owners and diners themselves.

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"In order to further our work in epidemic prevention, I think we ought to do the following," Sun began, then listed 10 items:

Restaurants must make clear lines of responsibility for epidemic prevention.
Customers must be subject to temperature checks before entering.
During the epidemic, dining in is not recommended; where dining in is absolutely necessary, eat in turns or separated from one another. To reduce customers from loitering too long, encourage take out and dining alone.
Before dining, make sure you wear your mask; if you are planning to dine in a restaurant, be sure you are healthy and are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19. Wear your mask at all times except when eating.
Make sure you wash your hands before dining.
Use staggered methods of serving to prevent overcrowding.
At ordering and paying stations, establish one-meter line markers to prevent customers from crowding these areas.
Increasing distance between tables and having only one customer per table will be effective in limiting group dining.
When dining, reduce socializing and concentrate on eating.
Restaurants should heat sterilize all tableware using steam heat, boiling water or chemical sterilizers.

Some of these, such as the distance between tables and one-meter lines, have already been announced and enforced.

Diners visiting Beijing restaurants over the last two days report being told differing limits, from one to four per table, while others say no limit has been set.

A party of three were asked to dine at separate tables with one empty table in between Thursday at Karaiya Spice House in the Kerry Centre

Like most of what has been happening across town as this crisis has unfolded, both interpretation and enforcement of policies that have been announced at a rapid-fire pace have been largely left to local-area police, building management and community associations.

Many restaurants are taking it upon themselves to enforce limits, even without prompting, simply to play it safe.

Any tightening of restrictions on dining is likely to further damage an industry that is already reeling from a massive decline in business as a result of the virus.

We endorse any moves it takes to end transmission of the virus and allow us to get back to normal. We suggest you abide by the rules, but continue to support your local favorites. Many – even those that previously never did take out before – are offering spectacular home delivery packages that you can partake in now; here's a list to get you started.