TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — More and more businesses are temporarily closing their doors as coronavirus cases continue to skyrocket around the Tampa Bay area.
Though Florida bars and restaurants are not required to close if an employee contracts COVID-19, many like Anna Maria Island Beach Cafe, Caddy’s Treasure Island and Cody’s Original Roadhouse in Bay Pines have chosen to let patrons know about employees who have received positive tests.
Cody’s Original Roadhouse notified guests in a Facebook post on Monday that its Bay Pines location would be closed until further notice.
“We were notified within the past few hours that an employee, with no symptoms, tested positive for Covid 19 [sic] this morning. This individual has not worked in the establishment since Thursday, June 18,” the post read. “The individual is not feeling ill and is ‘asymptomatic.’ Due to this, we have elected to close the restaurant for everyone’s safety.”
Bar and restaurant owners across the country are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to reopening their businesses.
The James Beard Foundation polled more than 1,400 owners of mostly-independent restaurants. They found only one in five owners in cities that were shut down in April said they were sure that they could sustain their businesses until business returns to normal.
Hillsborough County has nearly 6,100 cases while Pinellas has close to 3,900.
The state’s tally of total coronavirus cases reached higher than 103,500 on Tuesday.
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