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SafeDineOC COVID-Safe Restaurant Program is Now Accepting Applications for a $1,000 Grant
During today’s OC press conference, Vice Chairman Andrew Do (1st District Supervisor) announced the launch of the SafeDineOC Restaurant Program.
Below is Vice Chairman Andrew Do’s statement from the press conference, which was live-streamed on the County of Orange’s Facebook: facebook.com/ocgov.
Restaurants cam apply for the SafeDineOC Restaurant Program here: https://www.ocbc.org/safedineoc/
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Today, the County of Orange is taking one more step to ensure that customers and workers at restaurants around Orange County are safe.
On July 14, my proposed Safe Restaurant Program, also known as the SafeDineOC Restaurant Program, was unanimously approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
This program allocates $10 million of CARES Act funding to help restaurants keep their employees and customers safe from COVID-19 by providing cash grants that they can use to cover the costs of cleaning supplies and Personal Protective Equipment.
We know that face masks, frequent handwashing, and social distancing are critical measures we all must take in the fight against COVID-19. But for restaurants in particular, surfacing cleaning is critical measure to help stop the spread of this virus.
Orange County is home to many diverse food establishments, with many non-English speaking owners, workers, and patrons. As such it was very important that we ensure the SafeDineOC restaurant program is accessible in several languages.
Restaurant owners who apply to SafeDineOC will be able to fill out the form in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. In addition, the county is working on getting health guidance documents from the state translated into multiple languages and will be updating them on our website.
Orange County restaurants that had no uncorrected major violations from their last routine health inspection are eligible for this grant program.
On the SafeDineOC website, we will post the names of all the restaurants that have been certified by Orange County Health Department and our partners at the Orange County Business Council as “SafeDineOC Restaurants.” This list will be searchable, and we hope it will go a long way in encouraging more restaurants to participate in the SafeDineOC program.
The County will be doing a media awareness campaign to recruit restaurants with a mailer along with a public awareness campaign highlighting the SafeDineOC program for consumers to promote dining at the restaurants that meet these criteria.
SafeDineOC is one more step the Orange County Board of Supervisors has taken to help restaurants, and the rest of Orange County to combat and recover from COVID-19.
Back in early April, I led the effort to protect workers and customers from COVID-19 by requiring critical workers at restaurants and grocery stores to wear face coverings. Now, the practice of wearing a face covering is mandated by the state of California – and I encourage you all to do so as well.
In May, we approved the HEART Plan, which is providing tens of millions of dollars to local small businesses hit hard by the pandemic, including restaurants.
In June, we launched the Latino Health Equity Initiative, which is providing a targeted response to parts of Santa Ana and Anaheim hit particularly hard by COVID-19.
In July, I launched the #MaskUpOC educational campaign to enlist the public’s help to encourage responsible face-covering and I’m happy to see so many Orange County residents participating and practicing proper face mask wearing.
And just last week, we launched the First Responders Dedicated Testing Lane at the Anaheim Convention Center Testing Site where first responders have immediate access to get tested whether they’re asymptomatic or symptomatic.
We all need to continue supporting small businesses that are protecting their employees and customers from COVID-19. And SafeDineOC is a step in the right direction.
