There is a plan in my state of Illinois that can and should be replicated everywhere across America. Anyone who cares can contact representatives wherever they live and ask them to promote this novel idea. We can all post it on social media, and send it to local newspapers, radio, and TV stations. In less than two weeks, Illinois will be entering phase four of reopening, but we must keep in mind that this Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.
Whatever your feelings, Governor Pritzker was absolutely correct when he made the decision to shut the state down during these trying times. Whereas Florida’s governor’s actions were too little, too late, and they are now seeing spikes of over 5,000 new coronavirus cases a day. We are all frustrated and yearning for a sense of normalcy, which is why many of us welcome the reopening of dine-in restaurants.
An elected member of the Illinois Democratic Party came up with an idea that may make inside dining more manageable as restaurants begin to reopen. From his recent email:
“As we open for inside dining, it is likely that many of the people that will be testing positive for Covid-19 will have dined inside at one or more restaurants . . . If a visitor stopping for a meal while passing through happens to be a super spreader, then we may have a new hot spot where few or no cases of Covid-19 had existed before.” As you can see, this is a matter of trying to keep each of us safe and from accidentally spreading Covid to our grandparents and other vulnerable folks in or out of our lives.
Sign In to Dine In is urging every restaurant owner to voluntarily initiate a policy of asking one member from each party seeking to dine inside to provide their contact information in a register before they are seated. This shutdown has been enough of a burden on business owners already. The goal here is for you to download and print the Guest List Form and take it to your favorite restaurants and informing the owners or management teams of this simple, very important idea. This list may not only save lives but also protect the business from potential lawsuits. Any business owner worth their weight should certainly see the logic in that.