Peru to reopen restaurants next week at 40% capacity
Peru, a country proud of its gastronomy, will reopen restaurants on July 20 with maximum attention of 40% of its capacity after keeping them closed for four months due to the pandemic, according to a decree published this Monday.
The resumption of economic activities in the area of restaurant service in the lounge with a capacity of 40% is approved, indicates a regulation published in the official gazette El Peruano .
The reopening of the restaurants to the public is part of an economic revival plan that includes reopening airports for domestic flights from Wednesday, as well as interprovincial bus trips between 18 regions where the national quarantine ended on June 30.
The restaurants must prepare a plan for the surveillance, prevention and control of the covid-19, according to guidelines of the Ministry of Health, states the standard.
Gastronomy is the pride of Peru. We take the news with great joy because we will be able to serve the public with all the protocols, Blanca Chávez, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, told AFP.
Diners will have their body temperature measured before entering the premises and must wear masks. In addition, there will be distance between the tables.
The cutlery will be placed in closed paper bags to avoid possible transmission of the virus, among other measures.
In Peru, with 33 million inhabitants, the restaurants returned to function at the end of May, but only for shipments.
With the reopening, the Andean country seeks to boost its economy, which fell 13% in the first four months of the year due to the impact of mandatory national confinement, which began on March 16.
In April, GDP collapsed 40% as a result of a semi-paralyzed economy that left at least two million unemployed.
The Central Bank forecasts a 12% drop in GDP in 2020.
The new normality in restaurants will be applied in 18 of the 25 departments of Peru, including Lima, where the quarantine was lifted because infections are on the decline, according to health authorities.
In the other seven departments - with more than six million inhabitants - mandatory confinement is maintained due to the high rate of infections.
Peru is the second country in Latin America with the most infections after Brazil, with 326,326, and totals 11,870 deaths as of Sunday.
The reopening of the restaurants to the public is part of an economic revival plan that includes reopening airports for domestic flights from Wednesday, as well as interprovincial bus trips between 18 regions where the national quarantine ended on June 30.
The restaurants must prepare a plan for the surveillance, prevention and control of the covid-19, according to guidelines of the Ministry of Health, states the standard.
Gastronomy is the pride of Peru. We take the news with great joy because we will be able to serve the public with all the protocols, Blanca Chávez, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, told AFP.
Diners will have their body temperature measured before entering the premises and must wear masks. In addition, there will be distance between the tables.
The cutlery will be placed in closed paper bags to avoid possible transmission of the virus, among other measures.
In Peru, with 33 million inhabitants, the restaurants returned to function at the end of May, but only for shipments.
With the reopening, the Andean country seeks to boost its economy, which fell 13% in the first four months of the year due to the impact of mandatory national confinement, which began on March 16.
In April, GDP collapsed 40% as a result of a semi-paralyzed economy that left at least two million unemployed.
The Central Bank forecasts a 12% drop in GDP in 2020.
The new normality in restaurants will be applied in 18 of the 25 departments of Peru, including Lima, where the quarantine was lifted because infections are on the decline, according to health authorities.
In the other seven departments - with more than six million inhabitants - mandatory confinement is maintained due to the high rate of infections.
Peru is the second country in Latin America with the most infections after Brazil, with 326,326, and totals 11,870 deaths as of Sunday.