The Chinese city of Shanghai plans to reopen dine-in services at restaurants in low-risk areas, as well as those that have not seen any recent community-level spread of Covid-19, from 29 June, reported Reuters.
Although the city lifted its two-month-long Covid-19 lockdown on 1 June, many of the city’s restaurants could only offer takeaway services.
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According to a report from ShanghaiDaily, dine-in services will commence for diners that have a 72-hour negative nucleic acid test report.
To enter a restaurant, diners are required to wear a mask, scan the venue code and have their temperature levels checked.
Shanghai restaurants stopped dine-in services for guests after a lockdown was imposed in the city to curtail the spread of Covid-19 in early April.
Shanghai Commerce Commission official Lai Xiaoyi was quoted by ShanghaiDaily as saying: “Local district governments will decide which regions can resume dine-in services according to evaluations of the pandemic situation.”
Once dine-in services resume, large and medium-sized restaurants will be required to operate at 70% capacity, with tables in the restaurants positioned at least a metre apart.
Prior to the resumption of dine-in services, restaurants are required to conduct preventative disinfection while tables, chairs and tableware will need to be cleaned and disinfected following each set of customers when services start.
Lai added that restaurants will have to limit customers’ dining times to an hour and a half.
On 25 June, Shanghai reported zero new Covid-19 infections for the first time since March, reported CNA.
Last month, China banned restaurant dining in Beijing to control the latest Covid-19 outbreak in the city.
