(WWJ) Restaurants and bars in Michigan have to take all of their customers' names and phone numbers, starting today.
The purpose of the requirement, ordered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, is to allow for COVID-19 contract tracing should it be necessary.
What is contact tracing? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contact tracing helps protect you, your family, and your community by:
- Letting people know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should monitor their health for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
- Helping people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 get tested.
- Asking people to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 or self-quarantine if they are a close contact.
Get answers to all of your questions about contact tracing in Michigan HERE.
Reaction to this new requirement has been decidedly mixed, with some Michiganders happy to provide the information, and many others hesitant.
Asked on Facebook by WWJ's Roberta Jasina how people feel about this new rule, Craig Stigleman responded:
"This is a serious overreach and intrusion by the Governor at the expense and loss of business to our restaurants. This will severely negatively impact their business and further erode this state's small business base."
Traci Sells has other worries.
"My concern goes beyond this being intrusive," she wrote. "What about stalking or trafficking? A group of young ladies goes out after HS basketball practice for a quick bite to eat. Server now has their names and cell numbers -- easily traceable. Same for stalking. I understand the theory behind contact tracing but feel this was not thought out very well."
Chuck Piotrowski commented: "I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, it seems like too much government. But on the other hand, if I get COVID, I want to know where!"
Curt Catallo, co-owner of Union Joints -- which operates multiple restaurants in metro Detroit -- says his company will be following all health department rules.
They have to roll with the punches, he said, although its not easy.
"The hardest thing is we're in the hospitality business," Catallo said. "It used to be that we loved to spend time at the tables, we loved to just check on people, see how they're going. And now, you know, since the pandemic we're trying to limit our trips; we're just trying to limit everything,"
"So, it's a little counterintuitive for somebody that really takes service seriously because we're just not able to do what we're used to doing," he added. "But it's for the right reasons."
Catallo says customers' support and patience means more this year than it ever has.
