DALEVILLE, Va. – Going out to eat at a restaurant is something many people don’t feel comfortable with right now, especially at restaurants where employees have tested positive for the coronavirus.
But eating there may not be as risky as you think.
The director of the Roanoke-Alleghany Health District, Dr. Molly O’Dell, says so far, restaurants have been inconsequential in spreading the virus.
The CDC says the risk of getting COVID-19 from handling and eating food from restaurants is thought to be very low.
Even so, when an employee tests positive for the virus, restaurants aren’t taking any chances.
“Everybody’s going through this pandemic at the same time, so we’re all learning on our own,” Three Li’l Pigs BBQ Owner Brian Tyree said.
The Daleville restaurant reopened Wednesday after being closed since June 22 because an employee tested positive for the coronavirus.
Dealing with the coronavirus has been a learning experience for Tyree.
It’s also been a lot of work, from voluntarily shutting down to having the restaurant professionally sanitized.
“I’ll have the same sanitizers coming out every 3 to 4 weeks to do the restaurant again just to be on the safe side as we go forward. All my staff wears proper PPE, gloves, masks,” Tyree said.
Some customers say an employee testing positive for the coronavirus won’t keep them away.
“I know they are sanitizing and everything will be fine. We don’t worry about it,” said Mike Carter as he ate his lunch.
At Mamma Maria’s in Salem, business hasn’t slowed down compared to what it was prior to the restaurant closing when two employees found out they had the coronavirus.
“Pretty much, the two weeks (we were closed) we were just sitting and sanitizing everything,” owner Dominic Marletta said.
Extra effort to keep the restaurant clean and safe is also being taken now that it’s back open.
“We have hand sanitizer everywhere in the restaurant,” Marletta said. “Now, we don’t allow anybody at the buffet without a mask on and we actually have gloves they have to put on to handle the utensils.”
While the virus may be a challenge for the restaurants, O’Dell says in a way it has been a good thing.
“It’s been consequential in educating people about the importance of social distancing, face covering use, good hygiene and what kind of cleaning has to happen,” said O’Dell.
All of the restaurants that have had to deal with the virus so far, she says, have been very responsible in their response to it.
The latest two local restaurants to have employees test positive for the coronavirus are the Cheddar’s and Olive Garden in Roanoke.
Both Cheddar’s and Olive Garden thoroughly sanitized the restaurants per CDC guidelines, according to a Darden company spokesperson. Plus, the employees who tested positive are not permitted to return to work until they have a written medical release or meet requirements to return to work per CDC guidelines.
Additionally, both restaurants are doing daily temperature checks and health screenings for all team members before each shift.