FOX VALLEY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Life is moving closer to normal in Wisconsin, but normal might look different after “Safer-at Home.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued draft guidelines Tuesday to help businesses, like bars and restaurants, open their doors back up.
John Doemel is the owner of ZaRonis Pizza in Oshkosh.
“It’s gonna be really hard to take a drink of a beer if you’re in a mask, so it’s gonna be interesting to see how that plays out.”
The CDC recommends that businesses close their break rooms and restaurants use disposable menus, dishes and utensils.
“It’s gonna have to be a way, going forward for a while. Clearly, we’re gonna be living with this for a bit; it’s not just gonna disappear.”
And it doesn’t stop there for restaurants and bars.
CDC guidance also includes switching to one-time-use condiments, installing sneeze guards at registers and limiting the number of employees on a shift.
“You kinda gotta redevelop your ways and think of ways so that touch interaction doesn’t happen between people,” Doemel said.
Making those changes could take more money out of an owner’s pockets, in an industry where money can be tight.
Doemel tells FOX 11 people have to expect for that to happen.
“They’re gonna have to realize, if their small business is worth the investment in it, then they’re gonna have to pay a little bit more for those paper menus and, ultimately it’s for their safety, anyway.”
In addition to bars and restaurants, the CDC also has some recommendations for schools. It suggests that when schools reopen, students be allowed to eat their lunches inside their classrooms. But with school districts, like the Neenah Joint School District, having hundreds of students, exactly how feasible is that?
“There are challenges with it, for sure, but I think it is something that can be done,” said Neenah Schools communications manager Jim Strick.
Strick telling FOX 11 the CDC says schools should also space desks six feet apart and nix any field trips and school assemblies.
“The guidelines seem to make sense, and they are certainly things that are doable, but I would assume that a lot will change before we’re actually back in school on September 1st.”
The CDC put together these so-called “decision trees” for camps, childcare centers, religious facilities and mass transit systems, as well.
The draft guidance has been sent to Washington but still could be revised before the Trump administration unveils it to the public.
