MANILA, Philippines — Don Cabuhat, 35, a digital artist from Manila said he no longer feels comfortable eating out. From dining out on an average of twice to thrice a week in pre-pandemic years, Cabuhat said he rarely eats out now due to the still prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
“If anything, I might’ve preferred eating out before the current alert level. Foot traffic at malls and other areas where we usually eat is way higher right now, while the current number of vaccinated individuals are nowhere near high enough,” Cabuhat told Philstar.com, referring to Alert Level 2, the second most relaxed classification under the country’s current COVID-19 alert system.
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“It might be safe to eat [at] a restaurant but getting to where you want to eat looks to be more dangerous now than ever,” he added.
While Cabuhat said he misses dining out, he still minimizes his trips outside given the threats of COVID-19. He only dines out within Metro Manila whenever he needs to leave the house for unavoidable errands.
“Since getting vaccinated and when dining in has been allowed, we eat maybe once or twice a month outside. Usually, when going out to do unavoidable errands outside, we look for available and relatively safe opportunities to eat out,” he said.
Like Cabuhat, architect Joan Daryl Sy, 34, who used to be a frequent diner of various restaurants before the COVID-19 pandemic, is now hesitant to eat out as much as she used to.
“This pandemic after the alert level 2, the weekly dine-out became once a month,” she told Philstar.com
“Way back during the peak of the pandemic we didn't eat outside at all. We only availed [of] food delivery. The meet-up with friends outside became every two months home-based or around the area. We have to lessen meetings outside because we have an elderly and infant inside the house and are trying to limit the exposure to COVID,” Sy added.
While dining out, she noticed that some restaurants are going above the allowed seating capacity.
In December, the entire country was placed under Alert Level 2. The government’s pandemic task forced mid-December said Metro Manila will remain at this level until the yearend.
This means dining in restaurants is allowed for both fully vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals.
Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ guidelines, establishments are allowed to accept fully vaccinated individuals and 18 years old below who are unvaccinated at up to 50% of its indoor seating capacity. They are granted an additional 10% capacity if the venue has a Safety Seal.
Outdoor or al fresco dine-in services, on the other hand, are allowed at a maximum of 70% of the venue capacity.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said obtaining the Safety Seal Certification is voluntary but it affirms that an establishment is “compliant with the minimum public health standards set by the government and uses or integrates its contact tracing with StaySafe.ph.”
New normal dining
The COVID-19 pandemic has then overhauled the dining scene with health and safety protocols in place.
Aside from the seating capacity, the restaurant sector had to make several changes prior to the opening with eating as the only activity when face masks are allowed to be taken off.
Eating out as we know it is no longer the same.
“Our restaurant layouts and table spacing have been changed. Tableware set up [is] not the usual way now. We sanitize not just tables but also seats and touchpoints of people,” Eric Teng, president of Resto PH, a group with around 250 restaurateur members nationwide, told Philstar.com.
Some restaurants are also shifting to having outdoor dining. Teng said even parking areas are offered by landlords as satellite al fresco dining areas. However, he said this is not possible for the vast majority of restaurant operators which are located inside malls.
Meanwhile, the first time dining out was allowed during the pandemic was when the country was placed under the general community quarantine, a lenient level of COVID-19 lockdown, in June 2020.
During which, the DTI issued guidelines on the implementation of minimum health protocols for dine-in services by restaurants and fast food establishments.
Under this memorandum, food establishments are required to implement the following measures:
- Implementation of contact tracing measures
- Thermal scanning of all personnel, suppliers, customers prior to entry
- Strict enforcement of the "No Face Mask, No Entry Policy
- Provision for rubbing alcohol
- Strict observance of social distancing measures in all parts of the establishment
- For face-to-face seating, plastic barriers/dividers shall be provided, or chairs shall be positioned diagonally to avoid face-to-face seating
Buffet services have likewise been changed and the DTI said this can only be implemented if food servers will serve the food, all food trays come with covers and the food is maintained at recommended safe temperatures.
This year, the DTI said diners with symptoms or exposure to probable, suspect, and confirmed COVID-19 cases, regardless of vaccination status, shall not be allowed entry.
In view of this, diners are now welcomed by thermal scanners, plastic barriers and chairs with physical distancing marks upon entry to any food establishment.
Teng, also a restaurateur himself, said the restaurant industry’s protocols are very much accustomed to sanitation and hygiene protocols.
“Our staff are trained to pretend as if they have the virus, and everyone has the virus, and act accordingly. Which is why we are asking the government to allow us to open during the pandemic,” he said.
Diners like Cabuhat said these measures helped increase the public’s confidence to dining out again amid the health crisis.
“Honestly, I think the restaurants and food establishments are looking like they’re doing as much as they could under the current circumstances. So far, all I've seen is that they’re doing their best to be responsible not only for their customers but for their employees as well,” he said.
One controversial measure opposed by some is the installation of acrylic barriers or what some call “sneeze guard” in restaurants. These are put up on dining tables and cashier counters, separating customers and even restaurant personnel.
Some criticized the implementation of this, noting that COVID-19 occurs is transmitted by airborne particles and droplets. This is also being implemented in some establishments overseas.
“I don’t really get the acrylic stand they always put as a barrier, like even in restaurants here they implement that. I mean, the virus is airborne even if someone sneezes and it blocks the what... saliva?? The virus will still be in the air, so the stand doesn’t help at all,” a Twitter user wrote.
The World Health Organization said the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads between people in several different ways.
“The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. These particles range from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols,” it said.
“The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols remain suspended in the air or travel farther than 1 meter (long-range),” the health authority added.
Resto groups’ president Teng is among those not in favor of the installation of plastic partitions in food establishments.
He said acrylic barriers are irritating for guests especially those belonging to the same households.
“We hope there can be a policy where people within the same household can dine without the barriers. After all, guests don't sit with strangers at the same table,” Teng said.
What studies say
Asked by Philstar.com about the installation of plastic dividers in food establishments, Dr. Tony Leachon, a former adviser to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, quoted a report of the New York Times titled “Those Anti-Covid Plastic Barriers Probably Don’t Help and May Make Things Worse.”
“Intuition tells us a plastic shield would be protective against germs. But scientists who study aerosols, airflow and ventilation say that much of the time, the barriers don’t help and probably give people a false sense of security. And sometimes the barriers can make things worse,” the report read.
“Research suggests that in some instances, a barrier protecting a clerk behind a checkout counter may redirect the germs to another worker or customer. Rows of clear plastic shields, like those you might find in a nail salon or classroom, can also impede normal airflow and ventilation,” it added.
A similar report cited the study of John Hopkins researchers published last June which looked into the use of desk shields in schools in Massachusetts. It said that setting up these increased the risk of coronavirus infection.
Another study published pre-pandemic in February 2014, found that “office cubicle dividers were among the factors that may have contributed to disease transmission during a tuberculosis outbreak in Australia.”
Omicron threat
While the cases are slowly declining in the country now, the challenge to the restaurant industry continues. It does not end with lockdowns and the expense of adding extra health and safety protocols in establishments as new coronavirus emerge every now and then.
The latest is the coronavirus variant called Omicron (B.1.1. 529) first detected in Africa in November.
Last December 15, The Department of Health reported two imported cases of the Omicron variant detected from the 48 samples sequenced Tuesday. The infected individuals are from Japan and Nigeria, respectively.
Despite these, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez told Philstar.com that there is no plan to revise the operating capacity and protocols for dining yet.
However, he said, “there should be stricter compliance such as on masking, distancing and good ventilation, and the actual inspection of vaccination certificate for indoors 3Cs activities.”
Leachon said he is fine with the current Alert Level 2 and the allowed seating capacity.
For the former pandemic task force adviser, the country is still not ready for the most lenient restriction or Alert level 1.
“I think we are not ready for alert level 1 even if the new cases are controlled and the positivity rate is < 5 % due to the low national vaccination rate (36 %) which would stall our socioeconomic recovery,” Leachon said in a Viber message to Philstar.com
“We need to ramp up our vaccination and booster dose program this December and focus on the senior citizens, those with co-morbid conditions and the minors,” he added.
Leachon is also not in favor of allowing minors in the malls if they’re unvaccinated.
He called on restaurants “to ensure engineering and architectural controls in place to protect the public.”
Aside from these, the physician is hopeful that the seating capacity should be strictly followed. Based on his personal observation and feedback from friends, it doesn’t look like the 50% allowed capacity is being followed.
Like Leachon, RestoPH’s Teng said the restaurant owners are happy with Alert Level 2 hoisted as he expressed optimism about the recovery of the restaurant industry.
“We have been on Alert level 2 for more than three weeks now, with more people allowed to dine in with increased capacity. And yet, the case numbers continue to decline. That's an encouraging sign our restaurant industry standards and protocols are working, he said.
For now, the restaurant industry’s priority is to let the public feel confident dining out but to do so responsibly.
“COVID-19 is still with us and will probably stay around for the long term. We all have to be vigilant in managing the problem collectively,” Teng said.
For the coming holidays, he also encourages guests to act responsibly.
But those who are still not keen on embarking on a food trip outside their homes could still enjoy drive-thru, take-out and delivery services being offered by these food establishments in the meantime.
Diners Cabuhat and Sy said food delivery and home cooking were among their alternatives to eating out this pandemic.
Sy said they are only ordering specialty dishes or the ones they crave or cannot cook. But, she said she learned to cook the dishes they love during the pandemic.
“The benefit is we were able to replicate the dishes and they can be healthier and cheaper,” she said.
Despite enjoying these alternatives as he waits for the semblance of the old normal, Cabuhat said eating out is still irreplaceable.
“It’s an indulgence you could never replicate at home,” he said.