The City of Vancouver says it is rescinding the order issued on March 20 that shut down all restaurant table service as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back on March , council passed a by-law that allowed the city to issue emergency orders to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Under that authority, City Manager Sadhu Johnston issued an order prohibiting customers from eating inside licensed premises. Further, it limited the number of customers in any place to no more than 10 people.
On March 26, one business licence was suspended for three days due to violations of both the City Order and those of the provincial health officer
Now, the City is rescinding the order as the province begins its restart plan. With this in mind, business owners must abide by the orders set out by the government.
Dr. Bonnie Henry has issued a new order allowing food service establishments to restart in-person service under new conditions as of Tuesday, May 19. Those details can be found here.
In the next two weeks, the city will begin accepting applications for temporary patio permits; it will also expedite a review of those applications.
Additional detail regarding temporary patio permits will be communicated in the near future.
As part of this initiative, City staff are engaging with Business Improvement Associations in each neighbourhood to identify public spaces, including sidewalks and parking, that can be re-purposed to support local businesses.
In an effort to assist the businesses community, the City has also established the COVID-19 Business Communications and Support Office.
The office is a single point of contact for Vancouver’s local business owners to get information from the City of Vancouver regarding business support programs, to learn what City-run business services are currently available, and to make suggestions to the City concerning business and the economy.
Local businesses seeking help can connect with the office by emailing COVIDResponseforBusiness@vancouver.ca, visiting the webpage, or calling 3-1-1.
