The following are provisions of the governor’s emergency order governing bars and taprooms in Coastal Sussex County, courtesy of the Delaware Restaurant Association.
Effective July 3, 2020 at 8 a.m. E.D.T. the following additional restrictions shall apply to taprooms and bar service in restaurants in the towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Long Neck, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, West Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Millville and/or the following zip codes: 19966 east of Rt. 24 and Rt. 5; 19945 east of Rt. 17; 19975 east of the intersection of Rts. 20 and 54, and the entirety of 19944, 19967, 19970, 19930, 19971, and 19958:
- Taprooms, brewpubs and restaurants may not permit patrons to sit or stand at a bar, but may open the bar to prepare drinks to be brought to diners seated at tables. Taprooms, brewpubs and restaurants that choose to use designated bar space for seating patrons must arrange tables consistent with the Phase 2 Reopen Plan to allow for minimum social distancing, including the following:
- Tables and booths must be arranged in a way that ensures seated patrons at one table are at least six feet apart from seated customers at another table. For booths, this typically will mean seating patrons at every other booth.
- For freestanding tables (with pull out chairs), there should be eight (8) feet apart to ensure that a seated patron is six feet from seated guests at other tables. Inside and outside seating must both comply with these standards. Tables must be disinfected in between each party.
- Patrons from different households may sit at a table together as long as they are socially distanced. Patrons must all have seats. Orders should be placed from a table and received at a table unless an alternative exists that ensures patrons who are not of the same household are socially distanced at all times while placing and receiving an order. All patrons must wear face coverings upon entering and exiting and when getting up from the table to use the restrooms, as required by the Thirteenth Modification.
- Patrons must have a reservation unless the establishment has a system for ensuring that patrons without a reservation do not gather while waiting to be seated. Takeout can still continue under pre-Phase 1 guidelines, but should be done without those ordering entering the dining facility when picking up the order.
- Any common areas where people would typically stand or engage in other activities must be off-limits if not otherwise occupied by tables with seated patrons. This includes dance floors, arcade/bar game areas, pool tables, and similar spaces.
The Public Health Authority is hereby authorized to conduct inspections, as it deems necessary, of any business operating during the COVID-19 State of Emergency to determine if the business is in compliance with the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration, plans approved pursuant to this or prior Modifications, and Delaware law, in an effort to prevent, reduce the spread of, and suppress COVID-19.
Refusal to admit the regulatory authority and provide reasonable access to the facility may result in the immediate closure of the business until an inspection is completed or the COVID-19 State of Emergency has ended.
The Public Health Authority is further authorized to enforce the requirements found in the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration, the Phased Reopen Plan, individual plans approved by government authorities, or other applicable State of 14 Delaware guidance.
The Public Health Authority is authorized to impose occupancy and other restrictions on any business that it finds to be non-compliant. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services shall issue an order further defining the enforcement of this order. Any state agencies with primary regulatory authority over such entities and the Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security shall provide resources as requested to assist in the enforcement of this Order.
