SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) - Some business owners choose to close their doors because of the omicron variant.
Most of the businesses closing in the Bay Area had already planned a holiday break for the week but COVID caused them to shut down earlier than planned.
Nearly done with 2021 and this is not where Billy Joe Agan wanted to be with COVID. The owner of Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland has noticed an increase in positive cases at other bars and restaurants.
"We share clientele with a lot of those places and staff, so I just figured better optics to close for precautions rather than because we had some kind of breakout,” Billy Joe Agan said.
The club will be closed until Dec. 30. Until then, Agan hopes others take omicron more seriously to help stop the spread.
"We have to deal with it day by day. It's a situation that I have to think about all the time that I didn't have to consider a business like this or got into this industry,” Agan said.
He's not alone. Friends and Family Bar in Oakland will be closed until Dec. 27 because of an increased number of potential staff exposures.
COVID also played a part in the temporary closure at Bar Part Time in San Francisco. The wine bar posted on Instagram saying:
"In light of the recent spike in COVID cases, as well as exposures among our team members, we have decided to close Bar Part Time until next Tuesday, Dec. 28. Please stay safe, get tested and we'll see you next week."
Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, Laurie Thomas says only one of her 800 members had to temporarily close, but have since re-opened.
She says some San Francisco restaurants are considering extra precautions.
"I do know of a few restaurants that are thinking, do we require proof of boosters to allow customers to dine inside,” Thomas said.
Thomas says the public can do more to help prevent temporary closures by following the same standards that managers, servers, hosts, and cooks are held to.
"We've asked our staff and a lot of our members are doing the same. You know don't come in if you have any symptoms. Go get a test. Let's wait,” Thomas said.
Thomas says she's requiring staff at her two restaurants, Rose's Cafe and Terzo to get boosted by Jan. 1.
No one will be fired according to the owner, but she's pushing for everyone to get it done in order to be on the schedule.
Via Coronavirus | KRON4 https://www.kron4.com
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