Coronavirus Update: Washington Restaurants Required To Log Customers For Contact Tracing

Restaurants planning on offering dine-in services in the state of Washington will have to comply with a new government order to log customers for contact tracing. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that this mandate is part of the second phase of the state's reopening plans.

According to Inslee's guidelines, reopening Washington restaurants will be asked to keep a daily log of patrons with their names, contact numbers, and email addresses. This log must also include the time and date of their customers' visit, and the record must be kept for at least 30 days.

Diners who make reservations are used to this policy before the pandemic. This time, however, each and every customer coming in must have their information on record.

"If the establishment offers table service, create a daily log of all customers and maintain that daily log for 30 days, including telephone/email contact information, and time in. This will facilitate any contact tracing that might need to occur," Inslee's dining requirements for Phase 2 read.

In a press conference Tuesday, Inslee said that the state has the legal authority over collected data, which must only be used for contact tracing.

“We would monitor it, we would audit it,” the governor said in answer to concerns over data collected for advertisements and other use. “It’s very important for us to maintain privacy in this entire endeavor.”

But reopening restaurants with in-person dining must also meet other criteria, such as limiting the total capacity of people inside the establishment at 50%, or setting tables six feet apart with or without a physical barrier. Both customers and staff will be asked to wear face masks, except when they are eating. Sanitation, including the cleaning of condiments containers, must also be improved to lessen the risks of the virus spread.

Washington reopened for Phase 1 on May 5, but stay-at-home orders will remain in place until May 31. The governor has not yet advised the date of the second phase.

Experts, however, said that the reopening of dine-in services could be critical to virus transmission due to the airflow indoors, even with social distancing and other safety measures in place.

"When a virus is caught up in an air stream, it has the potential to move much further than six feet," Professor Kevin Van Den Wymelenber said via CBS News.

Wymelenber and his team did a study and 3D model scaling of how coronavirus could spread indoors and learned that fresh air leads to fewer infections.

"I think we're all going to be considering our air systems in buildings much more seriously moving forward," Wymelenber said. "And I think restauranteurs will be included in that scenario."