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DON’T KNOW: Torstein Voksø Eek, co-owner of the Bass restaurant and EFFEF Østersbar in Oslo, is very critical of the Minister of Health. Photo: Private
The restaurant industry is opposed to Høie’s explanations of the new distance rules. – It clearly shows the little understanding that exists in the HOD (Ministry of Health and Care Services) of what such a reduction really means.
VG wrote yesterday that the restaurant and nightlife industry in Oslo is desperate for the tightening of the one-meter specification that took effect this week. They are struggling to understand how to survive with the new rule.
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Health Minister Bent Høie (H) told VG that the restaurant has fulfilled its obligation by ensuring that there is at least one meter between the guests at the table.
– Then it is we, as guests, who must assume the responsibility of also keeping our distance on the road. If we are family or live together, we can get closer, Høie said.
The Minister of Health explains the background for the clarification of the requirements for restaurants.
– It was experienced that if it was a group of co-workers who went out to eat, the table was set as if it were a family that came to visit, says the Minister of Health.
He also said the claim could have financial consequences.
– But the alternative for the industry is much worse. It’s that we’ve lost control of the infection and restaurants must shut down completely, he told VG on Wednesday.
These answers did not fit the restaurant industry.
DISAGREE: – We have interpreted the regulations as the Health Minister emphasizes all the way, says Karl-Axel Bauer, co-owner of Lorry restaurant in Oslo. Photo: Jan Lilleby
40 percent less
– Is it true that “you covered the tables as if the guests were in a family”, as Health Minister Høie states?
– No, we have interpreted the regulation as emphasized by the Minister of Health until the end. Therefore, we make sure that there is at least one meter of distance between the seats on arrival and the reservation. The table plan that forms the basis for booking online also follows these rules, so we cannot accept more people than the rules allow. Our total capacity has been reduced by approx. 40 percent as a result, Karl-Axel Bauer, co-owner of the Lorry restaurant in Oslo, tells VG.
He is supported by Torstein Voksø Eek, co-owner of Bass restaurant and EFFEF Østersbar in Oslo.
– We do not recognize ourselves in this statement. We have done active information work on infection control and interpreted the regulations shared by the Business Administration and the Municipality of Oslo. (Also) we have had repeat checks and we have not received any comments on it, says Voksø Eek.
– Totally miss
He also highlighted the statement by the Minister of Health that the requirement could conceivably have financial implications.
– If there had been some kind of empirical evidence that could corroborate that a large number of cases of infection originated in the catering industry, we, like the entire industry, would be behind these radical restrictions, but now that is not the situation says Voksø Eek.
According to Bass’s owner, only 2 percent of infections were attributed to the nightlife industry in week 40 in Oslo.
– So, the Minister of Health completely misses and clearly shows how little understanding there is in the Ministry of Health of what such a reduction really means. That is, there will be no restaurants to close, he thundered.
The truck boss shares the concern.
– I understand the frustration in the industry, especially as we enter the holiday season. There’s no question that the requirement means a huge loss of revenue for an industry that’s struggling through the day, Bauer says.
DECREASE: According to the owner, the truck capacity in Oslo has been reduced by approx. 40 percent. Photo: Krister Sørbø
– A nice statement
– Do you experience that diners have experienced discomfort when having to ask for a greater distance at the table?
– No, I don’t know that anyone has that experience. No one with us will respond if guests request more distance. We are a large place, with approx. 450 seats inside and outside on two floors, so we have plenty of space, says Bauer.
Voksø Eek has not experienced this either.
– That’s a nice statement. We haven’t received a single comment on this since the reopening, he says.
– Have you ever violated the intention of the regulation, by letting a group that had a reserved table feel very close as if it were a family?
– Those who reserve a table and sit less than a meter away must be at the same address. So we ask all guests this question and place them accordingly. I see no reason to claim that we break the law when we do so. That should be fine, says Bauer.
– Wear a hat
– In your opinion, are guests good at keeping the distance set by the restaurant in the first place?
Yes, instead of targeting laws and regulations, politicians should encourage people to wear hats if they are going to eat out. That’s what we do. When guests say if they are in a family or in the same home, we believe in it, he says.
Guests are like people in the industry, Bass’s boss says.
– They do not want to be infected and, in our experience, they have complied very well with infection control rules in general, he says.
