Queensland Government - COVID Safe Checklist: Dining and Drinking

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What you need to do to safely re-open your business

1. Check your business can re-open

Check the Queensland Government’s COVID-19 website at www.covid19.qld.gov.au to confirm whether any specific restrictions apply to your business.
If your business has been closed, check your equipment and facilities are fully functioning, such as gas, electricity, toilets, and hand-washing facilities. Ensure food and beverages stored at your business have not been contaminated or are now out of date
Ensure staff have completed mandatory COVID Safe training and ensure other relevant training (such as food handling) is up to date. Refer to section 5 of this document re mandatory training requirements.

2. Wellbeing of workers

Direct workers to stay at home if they are sick, and to go home immediately if they become unwell. Require them to be tested for COVID-19 if they have any symptoms of acute respiratory disease (cough, sore throat, shortness of breath) or a fever or history of fever. They must remain in isolation at home until they get the result and it is negative for COVID-19.
Consider safety risks and manage these according to the appropriate hierarchy of controls i.e. elimination, substitute, isolation, administrative controls then personal protective equipment where required.
Implement measures to maximise the distancing between workers to the extent it is safe and practical and minimise the time that workers are in close contact. Where it is practical and safe to do so, review tasks and processes that usually require close interaction and identify ways to modify these to increase social distancing between workers.
Modify processes behind the counter (including in the kitchen) to limit workers having to be in close contact, as much as possible. For example: • assign workers to specific workstations to minimise the need to go into other spaces • implement processes so front of house workers can collect food without needing to go into food preparation areas.
Postpone or cancel non-essential face-to-face gatherings, meetings and training and consider using video conferencing where practicable.
Consult with workers on COVID-19 measures in the workplace and provide workers with adequate information and education, including changes to work tasks and practices and appropriate cleaning and disinfection practices at work.
Put signs and posters up to remind workers and others of the risk of COVID-19.

3. Social distancing

Place signs at entry points to instruct customers not to enter the shop if they are unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms. The sign should state that businesses have the right to refuse service and must insist that anyone with these symptoms leaves the premises.
Limit walk-in appointments and client interaction at the counter by using online or phone bookings.
If practicable, set up separate exit and entry points and separate take-away order and collection points to minimise contact.
For dining in or drinking patrons, implement measures to restrict numbers to one patron per 4 square metres indoors and one patron per 2 square metres outdoors. For smaller venues below 200 square metres, businesses can have one person per 2 square metres up to 50 persons at a time
Ensure chairs or stools for patrons seated at a bar or bar-like structure (such as a counter) are placed 1.5 meters apart.
Ensure social distancing by placing floor or wall markings or signs to identify 1.5 metres distance between persons for queues and waiting areas.
Place tables to ensure that persons seated at different tables are 1.5 metres apart.
Consider using physical barriers where practical, such as plexiglass around counters involving high volume interactions with customers
Remove waiting area seating or space seating at least 1.5 metres apart.
Provide contactless payments or ordering and payment online or through ordering apps.
Ensure menus are: • laminated and sanitised after each use or • use general non-contact signage to display your menu or • have single use paper menus available.
For takeaway services place menus outside the venue and introduce online ordering wherever possible.
Set up different areas for ordering and collection, and where practical, separate entry and exit paths.
Remove any serve yourself buffet style food service areas and communal water stations or condiments.
Serve shared menu items or grazing plates on individual plates and provide separate cutlery for patrons.
For seated dining, stagger seating times and manage the duration of sittings to control the flow of patrons.
Dancing is not permitted under this COVID Safe Checklist.

4. Record keeping

Ensure you collect and keep contact information for ALL customers, workers and contractors, including full name, email address (residential address if not available), phone number, date of entry and time period of patronage for contact tracing purposes for a period of 56 days (unless otherwise specified). This is not required for takeaway or home delivery.
Ensure records are used only for the purposes of tracing COVID-19 infections and are captured and stored confidentially and securely.

5. Mandatory training requirements

Ensure all staff have completed mandatory training within two weeks of a business opening/reopening. Staff that commence with your business after this two-week period must complete this training before commencing. COVID Safe training programs are available online through TAFE Queensland (https://tafeqld.edu.au/covid-safe). You can also meet this mandatory training requirement by doing an industry COVID Safe course reviewed by Queensland Health and the Office of Industrial Relations. A course for dining services is available at https://www.covid19hospitalitytraining.com.au/.

6. Hygiene and cleaning

Instruct all workers to practise good hygiene by frequently cleaning their hands. Hand washing should take at least 20 to 30 seconds. Wash the whole of each hand, covering all areas with soap before washing with water. If hand washing is not practical, alcohol-based hand sanitiser containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% iso-propanol is recommended.
Provide hand washing facilities for customers and patrons including clean running water, liquid soap, paper towels. If hand washing facilities are not readily available, provide an appropriate alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
Non-disposable crockery/cutlery/glassware is permitted only when cleared after each course and washed using a commercial grade dishwasher or glasswasher. Use disposable/recyclable cutlery/glass ware when available, or strict table clearing guidelines requiring gloves.
Reduce the sharing of equipment and tools.
Do not accept ‘bring your own cups’, including beverages served by contactless pour.
Clean frequently touched areas and surfaces at least hourly with detergent or disinfectant (including shared equipment and tools, Eftpos equipment, tables, counter tops and sinks). Surfaces used by customers, such as tables and bar counters, must also be cleaned between customers.

7. Deliveries, contractors and visitors attending the premises

Where practical, direct delivery drivers or other contractors visiting the premises to minimise physical interaction with workers.
Use electronic paperwork where practical. If a signature is required, discuss providing a confirmation email instead, or take a photo of the goods onsite as proof of delivery.

8. Review and monitor

Regularly review your systems of work to ensure they are consistent with current directions and advice provided by health authorities.
This checklist is a key part of your WHS COVID Safe Plan, as outlined on the WorkSafe website.
Publicly display this signed checklist as evidence that you are a COVID Safe business.
Ensure you have a copy of this signed checklist, which must be produced if requested from a relevant compliance/enforcement officer. This may include providing an electronic copy.
Keep up to date and find additional guidance at www.covid19.qld.gov.au and www.worksafe.qld.gov.au.
Employees with a general work-related complaint can call WHS Queensland on 1300 362 128.
Business owners that would like to better understand their WHS duties regarding COVID-19 can call 1300 005 018 or their union or industry association.
Customers who have concerns about whether a business is complying with this checklist can call 134 COVID (13 42 68).