To reopen, Washington state restaurants will have to keep log of customers to aid in contact tracing

[brooklynite]

Source: Seattle Times

With eight Washington counties now approved to move to Phase 2 under Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen the state, the governor’s office Monday released a set of requirements restaurants will have to comply with if they want to reopen for dine-in service.

Stevens, Wahkiakum, Skamania, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Columbia, Garfield and Lincoln counties have all been cleared for Phase 2, which allows restaurants to reopen at 50% capacity, and caps table sizes at five.

Notably, the 13 criteria that restaurants will have to adhere to in order to reopen for dine-in service during the novel coronavirus pandemic include a stipulation they “create a daily log of customers and maintain that daily log for 30 days, including telephone/email contact information, and time in.”

This is to aid in any contact tracing, should that become necessary.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/to-reopen-washington-state-restaurants-will-have-to-keep-log-of-customers-to-aid-in-contact-tracing/

[MineralMan]

1. That's not going to get a warm reception from either

restaurants or patrons. Extra, unpaid work for the restaurants and privacy issues for patrons. It won't work.

[Miguelito Loveless]

2. If you pay with a credit/debit card

This information is already available. No need to request it except those who pay by cash.

[MineralMan]

4. The email and telephone information are not available

from the credit card information. Please re-read the original post that started this thread.

[Miguelito Loveless]

5. The bank can provide that information

with a simple phone call. At this point the privacy train has departed. We never prosecuted criminal abuses by the gov't under Bush II, so it isn't going to happen under Trump.

[MineralMan]

6. The bank will not provide such information.

The liability for doing so is too great.

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. The government shows them a piece of paper

they provide the information. I am not saying I agree with it, but that is the world we live in.

Oh, unless you are Trump, in which case all of your criminal financial dealings are immune to investigation, no matter who wants to know, or what their statutory authority.

[MineralMan]

11. Again, please re-read the initial post in this thread.

The restaurant owners will be required to maintain a log with that information in it. That means that the restaurant will have to get that information from its patrons, which will not be a simple thing to do, given people's unwillingness to share such information. The restaurant cannot force a bank to reveal such personal information about cardholders. No court would issue such an order for a restaurant.

That is why the requirement is a stupid one and why it will simply not work.

Yes, the government can get a court order to force banks to reveal such information about cardholders, but that is not what this is about. It's also far from certain that such court orders would be issued on request.

You are arguing about something that was not in the original post.

[Miguelito Loveless]

12. *sigh*

My point is that the order is mostly unneeded unless the customer pays cash, since the needed information can be obtained easily from anyone paying with a credit card. That it is going to be greatly resented and result in Meal Team Six showing up armed to the teeth, is completely correct.

[Igel]

20. I meet with 4 other people.

They have my credit card information.

The government might or might not be able to strongarm the credit card company into giving up my address.

They have no hold over the other four people.


I'd also point out that my neighbors where I grew up could still not eat out. Mother, father, 7 boys. Max table size is 5.

Even when I visited my in laws there were often more than 5. And that was just my wife's family and me. Politicians must have small families and few friends. Or distrust the electorate, which is always healthy in a democracy.

[AllyCat]

7. There is no privacy when the GPS is turned on our phones and we pay with

credit/debit/contactless cards or payments. There are cameras everywhere. There is no privacy anymore when we are out in public.

So, those who don't agree, can continue to stay in.

[LanternWaste]

16. Viruses do not really care much about receptions.

Nor prophetic allegations of whether something works or not.

[MineralMan]

19. ..

[Kilgore]

3. I'm in one of the early open counties

It won't work.

[killaphill]

8. Inconvenient, but absolutely necessary.

I wish this was nationwide. In my humble opinion it is very irresponsible and reckless to be going to restaurants this early in the cycle, but if people want to take the risk, the least we can do is keep track for contract tracing once the second wave hits.

[Pobeka]

9. Needs to be rethought.

Here, grab this pen, that every other customer the entire day has held, and print your name, phone number and email address.

During the pandemic, you know how many businesses have handed me a dissinfected pen to sign a receipt? -- zero. I live in Washington state.

Now I get to hold a heavy use pen, and a heavily used clipboard/piece of paper? No thanks to that.

I completely understand the reasoning behind collecting the data for contact tracing, and see the value in it. I'm just concerned the method of collecting the data actually leads to more contact between individuals, which is what we're trying to reduce.

[maxsolomon]

13. Or staff ask the customer, and write it down.

New infections are pretty low in WA State right now - these counties went to Stage 2 for a reason. There are methods that will mitigate and lower risk.

The risk level will never be zero, and it will never be 100%.

[Pobeka]

14. I would prefer a combo of that and a tech solution (transfer info via bluetooth from smartphone).

A tech solution for efficiency sake, the manual method for the small % of customers without cell phones.

[brooklynite]

17. ...and if the customer gives a false name or phone number?

Do you demand to see a drivers license? (Show me your papers!)

[maxsolomon]

18. You're right, it's hopeless.

We'll never be able to eat in a restaurant again because a small minority of people are liars.

[JudyM]

15. Same with RI.