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Commissioners approve variance to reopen dining in El Paso County restaurants; state to make final decision

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- El Paso County Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a variance Thursday for reopening in-person dining at restaurants.

The variance will next go to Gov. Jared Polis and the Department of Public Health and Environment for approval, though that's not guaranteed.

When speaking before commissioners, Susan Wheelan, Director of the Department of Health, said El Paso County now has one of the lowest infection rates along the Front Range.

"We will do this in a responsible way, protecting the health and safety of the over 700,000 population in El Paso County," she said.

A proposal includes that all tables must be at least six feet away with a maximum of 50 customers or 50% capacity, whichever is smaller.

"If a restaurant feels they can exceed those occupancy metrics using the best safety practices, they can apply directly to the local health agency who will review that plan with them," Laurie Siegel said.

In addition, there is a recommendation that restaurants keep record of table assignments, seating and departure times to be made available to the health department upon request.

After 21 days, the restaurant will destroy the records to make sure people's privacy isn't infringed on. If the restaurant chooses to keep their own record, they will also destroy information after 21 days.

"Public Health would only contact trace if someone at the restaurant becomes infected with COVID-19. The only reason Public Health would want your name and number is to let you know that you may be infected with COVID-19 if you happened to be at the restaurant at the same time as the infected person," they said.

Any buffet-style service must be six feet away from any dining tables to ensure they are following safe social distancing guidelines. Employees who consistently come within 6 feet of other employees must wear masks.

"This is a little bit of a risk, we're talking about people gathering inside a building," Keith Siemsen said regarding the variance.

Greg Howard, restaurant owner/operator in El Paso County and President of the Pikes Peak Restaurant Association, is in support of restaurants opening.

“If it’s a step to get business in the right footing. Not everyone got PPE funding,” he said.

But, he believes it’s best if the restaurant chooses whether they keep records of customers who choose to eat at their restaurant.

“My industry across the world took a big hit, we want to make sure we have a process in case this virus grows,” he said.

He believes most restaurant owners will voluntarily keep record of customer’s names and phone number as they often do with reservation systems.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

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Alexis Dominguez

Alexis is a reporter for KRDO and Telemundo Surco. Learn more about Alexis here.

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