Bye Bye Banquets: City Prohibits Group Dining to Prevent Spread of Virus

Michael Wester | Feb 5, 2020 5:46 pm | Add a comment | 3539 reads

Group dining occasions such as birthdays and wedding banquets have been expressly banned until further notice in an effort to prevent further spread of the 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus, the Beijing Evening News reports.

At a press conference this afternoon held by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision, Deputy Director Chen Yankai announced that restaurants and individuals are prohibited from organizing and hosting group dining activities, effective immediately.

However, no specific numbers were given as to what would be considered "group dining."

Currently, pre-booked events should be canceled or postponed immediately, he emphasized.

In addition, Chen re-stated five other regulations all Beijing restaurants must follow during this period:

  1. The storage, slaughter, and processing of live animals shall not be allowed on the premises.
  2. Processing and selling any non-domesticated species is strictly forbidden.
  3. All staff must be screened every morning. If any symptoms are present (fever, cough, diarrhea, hand trauma, etc.), the staff member must be immediately removed from work, isolated and reported to the local disease control department.
  4. All operating areas must be clean and tidy, with meat, vegetables, seafood, semi-finished products, and finished products all handled and stored separately to avoid cross-contamination.
  5. All tools and utensils should be cleaned and disinfected according to relevant specifications. If chemical disinfection is used, the correct ratio of disinfectant and dilutant should be ensured. Where physical disinfection is used, the correct duration and temperature must meet requirements.

Chen also released some statistics about Beijing's restaurant scene, the Beijing News reports. Chen said that 13 percent of the city's stock of 87,000 restaurants – or roughly 11,500 of them – have kept their doors open during the epidemic. He added that of the 87,000, a mere 137 would be classified as large-scale enterprises, while 47,000 would be considered small enterprises.

READ: Bands Go Online to Keep the Music Alive as Gigs Are Canceled Across China

Image courtesy of Andy Horowitz