MACON, Ga. — Over the weekend, viewers reached out to 13WMAZ because they saw some restaurant workers not wearing masks while at work, so we set out to verify if fast food or restaurant workers are required to wear face masks. For the answer, 13WMAZ spoke to the State Department of Health and checked Governor Brian Kemp's executive order on guidelines for restaurants.
"We are wearing gloves as we actually exchange the food through the windows," Constance Johnson said.
It's fair to say coronavirus has changed a lot of things including how restaurants prepare our food.
"In the kitchen area, I only have two staff members who actually operate the kitchen, so they are staggering to keep that distancing," Johnson said.
Constance Johnson owns The Snack Boxx in Dublin and has made a number of changes to keep customers safe, including having her workers wear face masks.
"It is important because the safety for ourselves as well as the safety for our customers," Johnson said.
It is not uncommon to see people wearing a face mask when they are out in public, but are restaurant workers required to wear a face mask when they are serving us?
"All employees need to be wearing masks at all times. That is not only for the safety of the customers that are visiting the restaurants, but it is also for the safety of that restaurant worker as well as their co-workers," Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District said.
The order also requires the covering to be cleaned or replaced daily, so we verified workers are required to wear a face mask at food establishments. Hokanson says you can report a restaurant if workers are not following the rules.
"They can reach out to their county environmental health office which is part of public health, we are the regulatory agency for food service like restaurants," Hokanson said.
While some people keep their masks on or off, Johnson says safety will always be her priority.
"As restaurants begin to open back up and different establishments, we must think about everybody, it is like a universal precaution," Hokanson said.
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