PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Beginning on Monday, restaurants in Rhode Island are allowed to reopen for outdoor dining as long as they follow safety restrictions and participate in contact tracing measures.
“Establishments shall maintain an employee work log and retain the names and contact information of individuals placing reservations of at least 30 days and make this information available to [the Rhode Island Department of Health] upon request for the purposes of contact tracing,” the state said in a statement.
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Outdoor dining will be allowed in addition to pick-up, delivery, and drive-through operations at the restaurants. However, no more than 20 seated tables can be present at one time, and capacity cannot exceed what it was before the coronavirus pandemic started. Also, no more than five people are allowed in one dining party at a time.
Anyone looking to dine outdoors at the restaurants must make a reservation in advance.
The restaurants must also must follow social distancing guidelines, including spacing tables at least 8 feet apart, and at least 6 feet away from areas with regular customer foot traffic. Tables are allowed to be closer together only if there is a tall enough barrier between them.
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