Winds Cafe temporarily closes after staffer’s positive virus test
TheWinds Café in Yellow Springs has closed temporarily due to a staff member testing positive forCOVID-19, owners said in a Facebook post Saturday night, Oct. 31.
In the post addressed, “Dear Winds community,” the restaurant said it had “a positive test result for one of our beloved team members. We will be closed until we feel our restaurant and team members can be safe. Thanks for all the love and support.”
In Facebook comments, customers of The Winds praised the owners for their transparency. There is no specific legal requirement in Ohio that mandates restaurant ownersmust disclose staff members’ positive COVID-19 tests.
“Thank you for doing the
right thing,” one commenter wrote. Another said, “Best wishes for a speedy recovery and safe reopening.”
In recent weeks, several other Miami Valley restaurants have faced a similar situation and have reopened after deep cleaning and negative tests among all
employees.
According to Responsible Restart Ohio protocols created by state health officials and Gov. Mike DeWine to help keep the coronavirus pandemic in check, it is mandatory for bars and restaurants to “immediately isolate and seek medical care for any individualwhodevelopssymptomswhile atwork, contact the local health district about suspected cases or exposures, and shutdown the area for deep sanitation if possible.”
The “recommended best practices” in such cases call upon a restaurant or bar to “work with the local health department to identify potentially infected or exposed individuals to help facilitate effective contact tracing/notifications; once testing is readily available, test all suspected infections or exposures; and following testing, contact the local health department to initiate appropriate care and tracing,” according to the Responsible Restart Ohio document.