Restaurant checking temperatures before serving customers in response to coronavirus outbreak
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Tustin (KCAL/KCBS) — A Tustin restaurant was not taking any chances Monday when it came to protecting staff and customers from exposure to coronavirus.
Before customers are allowed to sit down for a meal at Sichuan Impression, a member of the waitstaff takes their temperature using an infrared thermometer. Anyone without a fever is then taken inside to their table.
“It helps to protect people, too, because it has to be done at some point if the disease is more widely spread,” Alex He, a diner, said. “It’s good for people.”
Lily Lei, the owner of the restaurant, implemented the new policy at the end of January for all three locations — the one in Orange County as well as two in Los Angeles. The policy applies to both customers and staff.
So far, the owner said the majority of people have cooperated with the policy.
“They understand this is a protection for everybody here, my employee and all of the customers here,” Lei said. “They can enjoy lunch or dinner here.”
In addition to checking people for fevers before they enter the dining area, the restaurant has increased how often surfaces in the restaurant are sanitized. Tables, windows and door handles are wiped down with an alcohol spray several times per day.
“I mean, when we were selecting places for lunch, this one comes up a lot because we appreciate the extra precautions that they’re taking,” Hailey Kamen, a diner, said. “Plus the food is absolutely delicious.”
The owner said there have been rare occasions when a customer has refused to be checked, and one time the thermometer said a man was running a slight fever. But, she said, a second reading a few minutes later came back normal.
“It’s nice they make us use hand sanitizer when we come in, and they check our temperature,” Elaine Kyle, a diner, said. “So it’s just a little extra precaution, which is nice.”
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