I. Scope of application

　　This set of guidelines is applicable to catering establishments in Guangzhou during the Chinese New Year for the purpose of COVID-19 prevention and control.

　　II. Prevention and control requirements for low-risk areas

　　1. Set up COVID-19 prevention and control ad-hoc working group.

　　Catering establishments shall be primarily responsible for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Legal representatives of catering establishments shall be the primary responsible persons. Catering establishments must actively work with local health authorities to implement COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Targeted and practically feasible COVID-19 prevention and control work plans and contingency plans must be made following scientific instructions. Catering establishments must ensure sufficient supply of COVID-19 prevention and control resources, including masks, hand soap, disinfectants and temperature meters. Catering establishments must provide COVID-19 prevention and control training sessions for employees and make sure all employees are properly informed about such information.

　　2. Monitor employees’ health status.

　　(1) Catering establishments must set up health profiles for employees to track their temperature and travel history. When employees display typical COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, fatigue and dry cough, reports must be made to the employer or to the local community. Under such circumstances, employees must seek professional medical advice at designated health care facilities in a timely manner. When confirmed COVID-19 infections are detected, affected personnel must be informed and quarantined in time according to relevant regulations. If an employee finds a roommate or close contact has typical symptoms of COVID-19, he/she should promptly report to his/her employer and take proper measures for self-protection and self-isolation. If necessary, he/she should visit designated health care facilities.

　　(2) According to the requirements in Guangzhou COVID-19 Prevention and Control Working Guidelines (9th Edition) – Instructions for the Public on Wearing Masks, employees of catering establishments must wear masks properly and they must wear masks at all times when they are at work. If masks get wet or dirty, they must be replaced in time. Employees working at catering establishments must pay extra attention to hand hygiene. They should make use of the “7-step handwashing method” and wash their hands frequently. They should also pay attention to coughing etiquette.

　　(3) Hygienic management of work uniforms shall be made a standard practice. Change work uniforms regularly, at the same time, sterilization of work uniforms should be enhanced with the following methods, including flowing steam, 30-minute boiling, and soaking work uniforms in chlorine disinfectants for 30 minutes before washing them.

　　3. Enhance health administration in daily operation.

　　(1) Limit the number of dine-in customers. Extend the distance between tables, make sure the tables are more than 1 meter apart from one another. If the tables and chairs are fixed and immovable, clearly label the tables which are not in use. Customers of different groups shall not be sitting at the same table.

　　(2) Catering establishments are encouraged to provide custom Chinese New Year dinner delivery service and group dinner delivery service. Take-out food and food to be delivered to the customers should use sealed packaging. Catering establishments are encouraged to use self-made or custom-made special food safety seals for each package. If there is no food safety seal available, single-use, irrecoverable materials can be used to seal off the package to prevent contamination in the delivery process. Employees of food delivery services must strictly follow relevant COVID-19 prevention and control regulations. Customers are encouraged to make reservations and eat on a staggered basis.

　　(3) Star rated hotels and capable catering establishments should publicize information on the normalized prevention and control of COVID-19 on posters, LED screens, bulletins or in other visible places to educate the customers, so that the customers can do their part to ensure the implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

　　4. Enhance prevention and control in food procurement and processing.

　　(1) Strictly inspect supplies.  Invoices or certificates must be obtained to ensure the traceability of all raw materials and ingredients. Employees responsible for purchasing food outside must wear proper personal protections. It is strictly forbidden to procure, process and sell wildlife as well as wildlife products.

　　(2) The selection of raw material providers, the processing and cooking of foods and the cleaning of tableware and cookware must abide by relevant food safety regulations. Catering establishments should closely follow the COVID-19 updates in the areas where their suppliers are based. If infections are detected among the employees of the suppliers, procured materials must be sealed for inspection in line with relevant COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

　　(3) Reduce the supply of raw food and half cooked dishes. If imported frozen food is sold on the premise, such food must be transported through designated route. Imported frozen food must also be stored and sold in a designated zone. Imported frozen food must not be stored and sold with other types of food. Hot pot restaurants and seafood buffets shall remind customers to heat up or boil their foods properly to avoid cross-contamination of raw food and cooked food.

　　5. Enhance prevention and control measures in regular customer services.

　　(1) Measure the temperature of customers. Remind customers to wear masks as they enter into the restaurants. Customers can only take off their masks when they are eating. Customers should put their masks back on once they have finished eating.

　　(2) For customers sitting at the same table, catering establishments must record the name, contact information and arrival time of at least one customer of the table. Customers’ personal information must be properly protected. Capable fast-food establishments should set up a track and trace system for dine-in customers.

　　(3) For customers sitting at the same table, catering establishments should provide one pair of public chopsticks for one dish and one public spoon for one soup dish; or provide one pair of public chopsticks and one public spoon for each customer. Public chopsticks and spoons should be clearly distinguished from personal chopsticks and spoons by using different colors, materials or visible labels. Catering establishments are encouraged to provide toothpicks in sealed packages. Capable restaurants should actively serve food in individual portions. The recommended dining time should not exceed two hours.

　　(4) Advocate “empty plate movement”, prevent unnecessary food waste to help save resources.

　　(5) Traditional events including weddings and funerals should follow the rules stipulated in the Guangdong Province Normalized COVID-19 Prevention and Control Working Guidelines for Traditional Events (Weddings and Funerals). In principle, the number of attendees should be limited to 150 and social distancing should be practiced.

　　(6) The number of attendees at private family gatherings or dinners should be limited to 10. Customers with flu symptoms should be discouraged from attending such events. Consumers from medium- or high-risk areas should be discouraged from attending group dinners, they will only have access to take-out or delivery services.

　　(7) Large public events. Large public events which have been approved or registered according to relevant laws and regulations should limit the number of participants according to the size of the venue. In principle, the number of participants should be limited to 50% of the maximum capacity of the venue. Control measures such as reserved entry and staggered entry should be implemented to facilitate the orderly entry and exit of participants.

　　6. Enhance the management of key places and areas.

　　(1) Ventilation. When the temperature is suitable, enhance ventilation indoors through natural ventilation. If central air-conditioning is used, sufficient supply of fresh air must be ensured. The use, cleaning and sterilization of air-conditioners shall follow Guangzhou COVID-19 Prevention and Control Working Guidelines (9th Edition) – Instructions on The Use of Air Conditioning and Ventilation Systems.

　　(2) Public objects. Object surfaces that people frequently come into contact with (such as checkout counters, counters, service counters, food freight elevator buttons, handles, doorknobs, public tables and public chairs, etc.) should be cleaned with chlorine disinfectant.  Disinfection is recommended at least twice a day, one before the opening of business and one after the close of business. The frequency of disinfection should be increased as appropriate according to customer traffic. Items to be repeatedly used by customers should be disinfected after being used once by one customer. Clean and disinfect food handling areas, dining areas, staff only areas, food ladders, staff changing rooms and group dormitories on a regular basis. Avoid food contamination while enhancing sanitation and disinfection.

　　(3) Waste collection and processing. Special rubbish bins should be in place to collect used masks. Used masks should be separately collected and disposed in time. Make sure there is no litter around rubbish bins or waste collection area. Waste should be disposed in time to avoid piling up. The walls and floor of waste collection area should remain clean. Chlorine disinfectant (free chlorine level: 500mg/L) can be sprayed in the area on a regular basis.

　　(4) Toilet. Make sure toilets are well ventilated, hand washing facilities are functioning properly, and the water seal of washstand and floor drain is effective. Clean and disinfect the toilet and kill insects in the toilet regularly every day to keep the floors, walls and hand-washing sinks free of dirt, the toilets/latrines free of fecal dirt and the room free of flies and mosquitoes.

　　7. Store sufficient protection supplies and designate emergency shelters.

　　(1) Based on the size and the number of employees, catering establishments should store sufficient COVID-19 prevention and control supplies including disinfectant, masks, contactless temperature meters and hand soap, etc. Catering establishments are encouraged to provide hand sanitizers to customers for free.

　　(2) Restaurants within star rated hotels should designate temporary emergency shelters. Emergency shelters should follow scientific instructions, and should be comfortable, safe and reliable. Emergency shelters should be isolated from other spaces.

　　8. Emergency response requirements.

　　Catering establishments must suspend business immediately if COVID-19 infections are detected on the premise. Disinfection of environment and air-conditioning should be carried out under the instruction of disease control authority. Business can only be resumed after passing hygiene evaluation and obtaining approval from relevant departments.

　　III. Prevention and control requirements for medium-risk areas

　　On top of prevention and control measures applicable to low-risk areas, medium-risk areas shall practice the following measures:

　　1. Catering establishments shall check the “health code” of customers and take customers’ temperature. Only customers with acceptable health code and normal temperature can be allowed into the restaurants.

　　2. Mark out “1-meter lines” in areas where people are likely the gather together, including the waiting area, pick-up area and checkout area. Strictly control the number of customers. Dine-in customers should match the number of seats available. Avoid crowding when taking new orders, picking up orders or queuing for available tables. Promote reservation system, schedule customer arrivals appropriately to avoid crowding. Promote contactless ordering and checkout.

　　3. Each private room can only have one table. Seats should be kept more than 1 meter apart. Private room shall be cleaned, disinfected and ventilated after being used by one group of customers.

　　4. Stop providing services to large group dinners including weddings, funerals and corporate New Year’s dinners.

　　5. Prohibit the sales of raw food and half cooked dishes.

　　VI. Prevention and control requirements for high-risk areas

　　Suspend group dinners. All catering establishments shall suspend dine-in services.

　　During the Chinese New Year, ff there are any inconsistencies between this set of guidelines and the prevention and control measures for catering establishments in the Guangzhou Normalized COVID-19 Prevention and Control Measures Working Guidelines for Businesses and Services (3rd Edition), stipulations in this set of guidelines shall prevail.