Wolf Signs Order To Increase Restaurant Capacity to 50 Percent

Waitress Serving Order To Customer In Cafe
Photo credit Getty Images

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Heath Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine signed orders on Thursday allowing restaurants to operate at 50% capacity beginning Monday, September 21.

To increase capacity, restaurants must self-certify before upping their capacity to 50% from the current 25%.

Alcohol service for on-site consumption must end at 11pm. This restriction also applies to restaurants that choose to remain at 25% and those that do no self-certify.

“As we continue to take critical steps to continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we also recognize that this pandemic has taken a significant toll on the food services industry, so we must balance public health and economic recovery,” Gov. Wolf said. “These orders give restaurants the ability to increase indoor occupancy safely while giving customers confidence when deciding to patronize a restaurant.”

Related

Documents to self-certify will be made available online starting on September 21 and will have the following:

  • A list of requirements contained in the current restaurant industry guidance and enforcement efforts;   
  • A statement that the owner has reviewed and agrees to follow these requirements;  
  • The business' maximum indoor occupancy number based on the fire code; and  
  • A statement that the owner understands that the certification is subject to penalties for unsworn falsification to authorities.   

Any establishment that wants to increase to 50 percent capacity indoors must complete the online self-certification process by October 5.

___Listen to KDKA Radio on the RADIO.COM AppTell your smart speaker to "play News Radio 10 20 KDKA"Receive email updates from KDKA RadioFollow KDKA Radio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram