The Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, is reminding all food vendors that they are responsible for the well-being of their customers, while they wait to collect their take-away deliveries.
In a news release issued today, Commissioner Griffith underscores that all food vendors—whether they are in constructed establishments or are engaged in roadside vending—must ensure their customers adhere to the mandatory distance of at least six feet from fellow customers. The top cop states that It is the responsibility of the relevant food vendor to ensure this is achieved.
Vendors are being advised to place markers (or even use chalk marks) every six feet, to give their customers a guide as to how close they can be from the customer ahead of them, thus ensuring compliance with the social distancing regulations.
The Police Commissioner further recommends that representatives of these food vendors also should be posted to assist in ensuring that the mandatory social distancing is adhered to.
Commissioner Griffith warns that failure to implement such measures eventually would cause mass congestion by those customers waiting to be served, hence breaching the Public Health Ordinance Regulations, and also putting the health of customers at risk.
The Commissioner asserts in the TTPS statement that if this transpires—in the same manner when banks and supermarkets were mandated to do same, failure of which would have triggered those establishments being temporarily closed, as provided by Section 133 of the Public Health Ordinance—all officers on or off duty have been directed, to have such food establishments also temporarily shut down, if customers converge en masse around food facilities, waiting to collect their delivery.
The TTPS statement also notes that effective 11th May 2020, take away service by restaurants and street food vending will resume operations.
