HOUSTON – The Houston Health Department and Greater Houston Restaurant Association are collaborating to protect the health and safety of restaurant-goers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the health department’s Better. Together. campaign, the agencies are launching a training program to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission among staff and customers.
The free online COVID-19 Foodservice Operator Training provides restaurant and other food service establishment staff education about food safety, social distancing, hygiene, sanitation, and other precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants that complete the training will receive recognition as a Better. Together. COVID-19 Safety Certified dining entity and be provided a certificate and decal for public display.
“This training course is a way for restaurants and other food service establishments to receive the added education needed to provide an extra layer of safety to their patrons,” said Naomi Macias, chief of the Houston Health Department’s Bureau of Consumer Health Services. “In turn, seeing our decals on display will let the public know they are dining in a place that went the extra mile to protect their workers and guests.”
“The Greater Houston Restaurant Association, a chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association, is proud to work with our local city partners to continue our industry’s long history of safety and sanitation,” said Melissa Stewart, executive director of the association’s Southeast Texas Region. “Protecting our teams and customers has always been our priority and we welcome these initiatives to continue to raise the bar. Together we will find our safe new normal for our community to reengage.”
In July, the Houston Health Department launched Better. Together., a multilingual public health education campaign empowering Houstonians with the knowledge and skills to protect their families and communities from COVID-19. Since the campaign’s launch, the city’s positivity rate fell from more than 20 percent to 5.3 percent.
Restaurant operations interested in the training program should visit HoustonConsumer.org, call 832-393-5100 or email [email protected].
Houstonians should visit HoustonEmergency.org/covid19 for current free COVID-19 testing sites and information about protecting their family and community from this deadly virus.
About Better. Together.
WASH HANDS. WEAR A MASK. SOCIAL DISTANCE. GET TESTED.
We are better when we all do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Together, we can put Houston on the road to recovery. Thank you for making H-Town BETTER. TOGETHER.