Governor Phil Scott Announces Limited Indoor Dining Restart and Opens Some Interstate Travel

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 5, 2020

Media Contact
Rebecca Kelley, Office of the Governor
802-622-4047 | [email protected]

Governor Phil Scott Announces Limited Indoor Dining Restart and Opens Some Interstate Travel

Montpelier, Vt. – As state data and expanded testing and tracing capacity continue to support reopening, Governor Phil Scott today announced the resumption of limited indoor seating at restaurants and bars and a data-driven approach to allow travel to and from designated areas without a 14-day quarantine requirement.

“One of the many things that Vermont is so well known for is our great local food and craft brews, so I know how important this sector is to our economy,” said Governor Scott. “I know we still have a very long way to go to help our restaurants get back on their feet but we’ve got to start somewhere and we’ll be able to build on this progress if our numbers continue to move in the right direction.”

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) has issued health and safety requirements and procedures to allow limited indoor dining at restaurants and bars beginning on June 8. Occupancy is limited to 25% of legal capacity with distance requirements between tables. Other measures include reservation or call-ahead seating, disposable menus, no bar seating and more. The Governor’s order, signed today, also allows municipalities to enact more strict local guidance for restaurants and bars to address a localized outbreak of COVID-19.

Effective June 8, the Governor has also authorized interstate travel to and from New England and New York counties with 400 or fewer active COVID-19 cases per million without quarantine requirements. A map of the approved counties will be updated weekly and posted on ACCD’s website. Vermonters planning to travel to other states should understand that each state may have its own quarantine policy and they should be familiar with, and respect, the quarantine policies of those states.

Visitors will be required to register with Sara Alert for daily reminders from the Vermont Department of Health and must attest to meeting the travel requirements. Lodging occupancy limits will be increased to 50% or 25 total guests and staff, whichever is greater, and health, spacing, group size and hygiene requirements remain in place. Dining operations at lodging properties must remain at 25% capacity, per existing restaurant guidance.

Governor Scott also reported that, if the positive trends continue, quarantine requirements will be further eased in the coming weeks. “This first phase will still only be a small portion of our northeastern region but it’s a first step in this process and—in the coming weeks—we expect to further reduce quarantine requirements to get this important sector of our economy moving again, in a safe manner,” said Governor Scott.

To view the Addendum 17 to Executive Order 01-20, visit https://governor.vermont.gov/content/addendum-17-executive-order-01-20

For ACCD’s specific safety guidelines and protocols for indoor dining and lodging, as well as additional resources, visit accd.vermont.gov.

For more information on:

COVID-19 health information, guidance and case data, visit www.healthvermont.gov/covid19.
The Governor’s actions, visit governor.vermont.gov/covid19response.
The state’s modeling, visit dfr.vermont.gov/about-us/covid-19/modeling.

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