June 24, 2020

Would COVID-19 Training Certification Program for restaurants ease your mind?

Like most people in Texas, I'm not ready to put my guard down and start visiting restaurants again as long as COVID-19 exists without a vaccine. We have no idea what the long-term health implications are of catching this virus. Its only been around for six months.

Chickenpox is a virus. Lots of people have had it, and probably don't think about it much once the initial illness has passed. But it stays in your body and lives there forever, and maybe when you're older, you have debilitatingly painful outbreaks of shingles. You don't just get over this virus in a few weeks, never to have another health effect. We know this because it's been around for years, and has been studied medically for years.

Herpes is also a virus. And once someone has it, it stays in your body and lives there forever, and anytime they get a little run down or stressed-out they're going to have an outbreak. Maybe every time you have a big event coming up (school pictures, job interview, big date) you're going to get a cold sore. For the rest of your life. You don't just get over it in a few weeks. We know this because it's been around for years, and been studied medically for years.

HIV is a virus. It attacks the immune system and makes the carrier far more vulnerable to other illnesses. It has a list of symptoms and negative health impacts that goes on and on. It was decades before viable treatments were developed that allowed people to live with a reasonable quality of life. Once you have it, it lives in your body forever and there is no cure. Over time, that takes a toll on the body, putting people living with HIV at greater risk for health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, bone disease, liver disease, cognitive disorders, and some types of cancer. We know this because it has been around for years, and had been studied medically for years.

With COVID-19, are you willing to take that risk??

So, to give customers a sense that they are taking the virus seriously, the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) will soon launch a COVID-19 training certification and verification program that restaurants can have employees attend and receive a 'COVID-19 certification' certificate. It's better than nothing.

The program will include unannounced and discrete visits from "secret diners."

“As restaurants across the state slowly re-open their dining rooms, 77% of consumers say they plan to reduce visits to restaurants in the future,” TRA representatives said in a release. “Without those sales, more small businesses and family legacies will be forced to close their doors forever.”

The Texas Restaurant Promise Certification Program will train at least 5 employees in a restaurant who in turn train the rest of the staff.

“The training program consists of five courses focused on key roles within a restaurant: managers, takeout/delivery line staff, servers, kitchen staff, and cleaning crew,” representatives explained.

A third party company, A Closer Look, will deploy secret shopper/diners into the participating restaurants.

“During training, four secret shop visits. After they are trained, they will do another eight secret shop visits and provide that feedback to the owner/operator,” TRA representative Joe Monastero said.

Customers can search for Texas Restaurant Promise Certified and Verified decals in restaurants that completed the training, per NBC 5’s Larry Collins.

“You need the public to know that it is safe to come into the doors. You are doing that work. You are talking the talk and walking the walk,” Monastero said.

The first class will start on June 25.

To view county status. 👈