Tips for restaurants in Oaxaca Mexico during COVID-19: Consider staying closed

Oaxaca de Juárez, a quaint colonial city in south-central Mexico that relies on tourism for its very existence, relaxed its COVID-19 protocols in early July 2020. And as we move into summer, so have other cities around the world. they are equally dependent on visitors. Restaurants have started to open. Should they do it just because of a change in municipal rules and regulations, especially as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise?

While Mexico is fortunately far behind the US in terms of a litigation-happy public, attitudes toward liability are changing, including in Oaxaca. Two questions come to mind:

  1. Is it going to make a measurable difference to your bottom line with your restaurant open, assuming tourists are not yet ready to visit Oaxaca and patronize your restaurant?
  2. Are you prepared to follow good advice, perhaps more stringent than that dictated by your city, to avoid the possibility of a customer or staff member getting sick? And if not, are you willing to take the risk of what it may bring you as a consequence?

Tourists will not return to Oaxaca in appreciable numbers for several months. If your restaurant relies on tourism to increase its numbers, it won’t happen just because you open your doors now. Isn’t it better that it stays closed and continues to offer only takeout and delivery? Consider the advice of a former litigant, someone who has witnessed how some restaurants in another Mexican city in July have been dealing with COVID-19:

  1. Half of their tables are unusable.
  2. Before entering, customers must step on a special mat, have their temperature taken, receive antibacterial hand gel, wear a face covering, present photo ID, and complete and sign a form that answers several questions related to their past health . two weeks.
  3. In the restaurant, staff must wear face masks and plastic protectors, and cutlery, whether plastic or stainless steel, must be sealed in plastic.
  4. Menus must be available online to be accessed with a smartphone only, or alternatively, disposable paper menus can be used.

Other protocols may be considered, as advised by your experienced litigation attorney.

The goals are to ensure that neither customers nor staff are exposed to COVID-19, and if someone becomes ill with the virus, the restaurant and its owners reduce the likelihood of liability.

If someone, an employer for example, gets sick, who will blame? The news will spread far and wide, fast. Not only may your restaurant be closed and quarantined for a period of time, but when tourism returns, visitors may be loathe to patronize your establishment.

You won’t make a profit without tourism, so your motivation for opening might be to support Oaxacan residents who crave its exquisite cuisine at reasonable prices. They can still use takeout or delivery, and this reduces the likelihood of them getting sick, or at least blaming their lax protocols if they do. You might also be considering supporting your staff. What about your health?

It is suggested that restaurants are simply not worth opening until Oaxaca announces a green light, and even then, it is recommended to follow some of the protocols mentioned above. Better safe than sorry. Wait a little longer, especially if yours is an indoor restaurant. And while you reflect, consider that restaurants are the only busy establishments where to do what you are there, you must remove your face mask, a protector for others.

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