CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Teachers often reward students with stickers for good behavior.
That's exactly what the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health Department is doing right now for restaurants that follow a full list of COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“We’ve just gone through that list, and we got the seal of approval," Doc's Seafood and Steaks Manager Mo Chavez said. "And we were able to get the little sticker which obviously makes us feel great."
In addition to the full name of the health department, the sticker has a check mark and reads simply, "COVID Compliant."
Earning the sticker isn't as simple.
“There’s a lot of things that go into being COVID compliant,” Director of Public Health Annette Rodriguez said.
The guidelines include all employees wearing masks and having their temperature checked before shifts. Disposable paper menus must be used and tables kept clear of condiments. Social distancing markers must be posted and tables kept six feet apart in all directions.
A restaurant must abide by every single guideline for the health department to declare them COVID Compliant.
Doc's pulled it off, and Chavez says it's paying off at the cash register.
"I do definitely think that it definitely gives people a little bit of a security knowing that that (COVID Compliant) sticker is there," she said.
Rodriguez didn't have an exact count on the number of restaurants that have received their stickers. But she urges diners to wear masks when they're not eating or drinking even if their restaurant is COVID Compliant.
"You might have to go to the restroom, and you might cross paths (with another person) and they cough right at that time," she said. "You would never think so, but they cough right at the time that you’re crossing paths, and you could still pick up COVID-19.”
