Under enhanced safety measures, on-site public catering outdoors will be available from 7 May

By approving the amendments to the Law on the Management of the Spread of Covid-19 Infection, the Saeima has decided that from 7 May of this year, the resumption of on-site public catering services will be allowed outdoors under enhanced safety measures.

At the extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on 6 May of this year, it was decided to strengthen the pre-established conditions for the provision of on-site public catering services outdoors.

When providing on-site public catering services outdoors, the service provider must comply with the following conditions:

• no more than four adults, excluding minors (i.e., under the age of 18), from no more than two households, but no more than 10 persons in total (i.e., adults and children) are present at the same table;
• a distance of at least two metres is ensured between the persons sitting at different tables, if no partition wall is in place between the tables;
• cutlery, sets of dishes, and napkins must be individually issued to every visitor;
• tables must be disinfected after every meal (after every visitor);
• staff and visitors must use mouth and nose coverings during their time at the public catering establishment, except when sitting at a table.

In order to prevent people from gathering in public catering establishments in the late evening hours, the opening hours of public catering establishments outdoors are limited: they must start operating no earlier than 6.00 and end work no later than 21.00. After 21.00, public catering places may only serve food as takeaway.

At the same time, similarly as in sales outlets, there must be a designated person in public catering establishments who organises the implementation of the established epidemiological safety measures. The designated person must be permanently present at the public catering establishment during its opening hours; at the request of an official of the supervisory and control authority, they must provide the necessary information regarding the implementation of epidemiological safety measures at the public catering establishment; they must be able to identify and indicate in an objectively verifiable manner the number of visitors at the public catering establishment during the control.

In addition, clearly legible publicly available information, including in foreign languages, must be displayed in places visible to visitors (at least at the entrance and the checkout) on the maximum number of persons that may be present at the same time and with the contact details of the designated person and the municipal police.

Detailed conditions for the provision of on-site public catering services outdoors can be found in sub-paragraph 20.1 of the Cabinet Regulation No.360 “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of Covid-19 Infection” adopted on 9 June 2020. Detailed amendments to the regulatory enactments approved by the government on 6 May of this year are available on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers.