Detroit Grocery Workers and Restaurant Employees Are Now Eligible For the COVID-19 Vaccine

Food-service workers living or working in Detroit can begin scheduling appointments to receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced the vaccination plan on Tuesday, February 2, which includes Detroit grocery-store workers, people working at meatpacking facilities in the city, restaurant employees, and those handling food and beverage. Eligible residents and employees should call (313) 230-0505 to schedule an appointment for their first and second vaccine dose. Vaccinations take place at the TCF Center downtown.

“Food service workers play a critical role in our economy and touch all of our lives, so I’m pleased that we are now able to offer the vaccine to them,” Duggan says in the press release. “This new expansion potential allows even more Detroiters and essential workers greater access to the vaccination and hopefully keeps another group of frontline workers protected from this terrible disease.”

The news comes as restaurants and bars across the state were allowed to resume indoor dining this week. Under the new order, restaurants and bars may reopen at 25 percent capacity with a capacity cap at 100 people. Tables must be six feet apart with no more than six people per table. Businesses with outdoor dining areas, such as tents, may reinstall all four sides of structures to insulate patrons from the cold. A 10 p.m. closing curfew is in effect until further notice. Diners are also required to provide their name and contact information when dining in at a restaurant or bar for contact-tracing purposes.

With indoor dining shut down since mid-November, virus outbreaks associated with restaurants and bars have remained low. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) continues to urge caution when weighing the decision to dine out and is directing businesses to the state’s new, voluntary MI COVID-19 Safer Dining program.

The program is designed to help certify that businesses have the proper airflow necessary to limit the airborne spread of COVID-19. Businesses become certified and featured on the state’s website upon completion of a ventilation inspection. The state is planning to host a webinar on Wednesday, February 3, outlining the program to provide information to HVAC contractors and food-service businesses.

• Tracking COVID-19 Outbreaks in Michigan’s Food Industry [ED]
• Michigan Restaurants and Bars Can Restart Indoor Dining Service on February 1 [ED]