As part of the Wolf Administration’s ongoing efforts to ensure public health and safety and support economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine signed new orders following the recent announcement that restaurants may increase indoor occupancy to 50 percent starting Monday, Sept. 21.
The order requires that serving alcohol for on-site consumption must end at 11 p.m. starting today and all alcoholic beverages must be removed from patrons by midnight. This applies to both restaurants that do not self-certify to increase to 50 percent and those that choose to stay at 25 percent. There is no change to the requirements for the temporary sale of cocktails-to-go and take out alcohol sales from bars, restaurants or hotels with a liquor license.
“As we continue to take critical steps to continue to mitigate the spread of COVI-19, we also recognize that this pandemic has taken a significant toll on the food services industry, so we must balance public health and economic recovery,” Wolf said. “These orders give restaurants the ability to increase indoor occupancy safely while giving customers confidence when deciding to patronize a restaurant.”
The recently announced self-certification process will enable restaurants to increase indoor occupancy to 50 percent while adhering to mitigation efforts that will keep employees and customers safe. Starting today, restaurants can begin submitting their self-certification documents to an Open & Certified Pennsylvania database.
The Wolf Administration has released Frequently Asked Questions as a reference for restaurant owners and the public, along with updated restaurant guidance.
