Pub owner glad province not closing sit-down dining

BREW PUB’S STAFF TAKE TEMPERATURES, DO CONTACT TRACING

A Calgary brew pub owner says he expects staff will use the honour system to ensure guests dining there are part of the same household.

That was one of the tighter measures the Alberta government announced Tuesday to try to get soaring COVID-19 cases under control.

Ernie Tsu with Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery said he was planning to meet with government officials to get details on how establishments are expected to enforce the rule.

Tsu, who is also a founding board member of the Alberta Hospitality Association, says he’s pleased restaurants have not been closed to sit-down customers, as has been the case in some other provinces.

The government says six people from the same immediate household can sit at a table together.

Tsu says most of the customers who have been frequenting Trolley 5 have been at tables for two or four.

He adds staff members take temperatures and help with contact tracing by asking customers to provide phone numbers at the door.

“The majority of the restaurants across Alberta are very happy that they’re able to stay open right now,” he said Wednesday.

“We still have to make sure that everyone understands that these restaurants are still paying full rent while employing Albertans and trying to work with diminished capacities.”

Alberta reported 1,115 new cases on Tuesday — the sixth consecutive day with numbers above the 1,100 mark.

Earlier this month, the province forced bars and restaurants to stop serving booze by 10 p.m. and to close by 11 p.m.

Premier Jason Kenney has said targeted health restrictions are the best way to keep COVID-19 from burdening the health-care system while keeping the economy from collapsing.

Others, including many doctors, infectious disease specialists and the Opposition NDP, have called for sharp, short economic shutdowns, arguing that if the COVID-19 wave isn’t stopped, there won’t be an economy left to save.