Health officials ready new guidelines as restrictions ease

The draft guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sent to Washington but still could be revised before being released to the public.

SHARE Health officials ready new guidelines as restrictions ease
The White House Holds Daily Briefing On Coronavirus Pandemic

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive at the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. Earlier on Friday, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a $484 billion bill that aids small businesses and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is reviewing proposed new guidelines for how restaurants, schools, churches and businesses can safely reopen as states look to gradually lift their coronavirus restrictions.

The draft guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sent to Washington but still could be revised before being released to the public. The recommendations were obtained from a federal official who was not authorized to release them publicly.

Get the latest news about the coronavirus and its ripple effects in Chicago and Illinois in our live blog.

The guidelines include suggestions such as closing break rooms at offices, using disposable menus in restaurants and having students eat lunch in their classrooms.

The CDC put together so-called “decision trees” for at least seven types of organizations: schools, camps, childcare centers, religious facilities, mass transit systems, workplaces, and bars/restaurants.

White House officials previously released a three-phase reopening plan for the nation that mentioned schools and other organizations that come back online at different points. But it hadn’t previously offered more specific how-to guidelines for each kind of entity with specific steps they can take.

The new guidance still amounts to little more than advice. State and local officials will be the ones to adopt and enforce them. Some state and local governments have already put rules in place for businesses that are operating. For example, Michigan requires businesses to limit how many customers can be in a store at one time.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said that each business that wants to reopen will have to submit a plan to the state on how to do that.

The new guidance could offer some unified federal guidance that local officials can lean on, said Lindsay Wiley, an American University public health law expert.

“Federal guidance provides cover to the states for those regulations if they’re challenged in the courts,” she said. “It allows the state to say ‘well the CDC said to do it this way,’ and the judge then is very happy to say ‘well yes you consulted CDC and that’s the appropriate body,’ and then uphold the restrictions and say they’re appropriately evidence based.”

Some examples from the guidance:

—In the initial reopening phases, schools should space desks six feet apart, nix any field trips and school assemblies, and have students eat lunch in their classrooms instead of the cafeteria.

—Churches should hold services through video streaming or at drive-in or outdoor venues as much as possible. They should also encourage everyone to wear cloth face masks, use a stationary collection box, and schedule extra services if necessary to make sure church pews are not packed and congregants stay at least six feet from each other.

—Restaurants should consider using throwaway menus, single-service condiments, and disposable forks, knives, spoons, and dishes. They should install sneeze guards at cash registers, limit the number of employees on a shift, and avoid having buffets, salad bars, and drink stations.

Various trade groups have also started coming out with recommendations. For example, the National Restaurant Association last week put out guidance to restaurants considering reopening. The association based its guidance on recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But its suggestions don’t necessarily match the draft CDC proposals.

The association said restaurants should clean and sanitize reusable menus, while the CDC suggests using disposable menus. And the CDC recommends that employees use cloth masks when interacting with customers, but the association doesn’t. But some guidance is similar. The association and the CDC both recommend seating dining parties at least 6 feet apart.

The Latest
Despite the addition of some new characters (human and otherwise) the film comes across as a relatively uninspired and fairly forgettable chapter in the Monsterverse saga.
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century.
Doctors say looking at the April 8 eclipse without approved solar glasses — which are many times darker than sunglasses — can lead to retinal burns and can result in blind spots and permanent vision loss.
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.