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But is it safe?

“If people need food and they don’t have an ability to cook or prepare meals for themselves, takeout is a great resource for many people,” Dr. Vera Etches, the city’s medical officer of health, said Friday.

Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia News

Ottawa Public Health has posted an online guide for food premises and delivery services that lists added precautions it recommends in the face of COVID-19. It emphasizes the need for two-metre social distancing between staff and customers and recommends home deliveries be left outside the door rather than handed over in person. Payments should be made electronically, if possible. Tapping is safer than punching in a PIN.

“Like any kind of activity outside the home, if you go out to get something or pick something up, you should continue to think you could encounter the virus and to wash your hands when you get home and take those precautions,” Etches said.

“We are asking people to limit those activities as much as possible, so my recommendation would be to cook at home as much as you can, but otherwise (takeout) is an option for people.”

At Broadway Bar and Grill in Barrhaven, co-owner George Saliba says his takeout and delivery business alone will only cover half of his monthly rent at Barrhaven Town Centre.

“We do get busy on Skip the Dishes sometimes, but nothing compared to our daily sales for us to just make it by,” Saliba said.

Staff has been cleaning surfaces, wiping down doors, surfaces, tables and chairs and disinfecting debit machines. He’s kept a couple of cooks on staff, “just to keep them working,” he said.