Impact of Covid-19 on the Restaurant Industry Summary

Impact of Covid-19 on the Restaurant Industry
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Impact of Covid-19 on the Restaurant Industry.
In the last month of 2019, a flu-like virus was detected in China, and its spread within the country raised a lot of alarm. Most people back then assumed its impact, and unfortunately, the whole world is experiencing the adverse effects of this flu-like disease, popularly known as Covid-19. This pandemic has affected many industries in most countries, and thousands of people worldwide have been directly or indirectly affected. There are 2.7 million deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2021) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most industries have fired their workers as a result of closure due to the various parameters set aside by the World Health Organization measures in conjunction with the national governments.
The restaurant industry is one of these industries. Since the first reported outbreak within the country, the national government took various measures, which mainly entailed isolation, wearing masks, and social distancing. These measures left many workers in the restaurant industry jobless since this job requires a lot of one on one interaction with customers everyday. In Canada, for example, by the end of 2020, more than 100 bars and restaurants had been closed CITATION Tan21 \l 1033 (Mok, 2021). The impact on the restaurant industry in Toronto and Canada as a whole was greatly felt considering that nearly two-thirds of the 1.2 million employees of the industry have lost their jobs. Provided herein is a description of the cimpact that Covid-19 has had on the restaurant industry in Canada.
Methods of data collection used by restaurants and bars following regulations on contact tracing
To control the spread of Covid-19, the national government, in cooperation with World Health Organization, implemented a contact tracing policy for all businesses, including bars and restaurants, requiring the compulsory collection of customer, visitor, and staff contact details for tracing purposes in case one of these members contracts the Coronavirus. Contact tracing enables proper tracking of infected persons, all the places they have visited, and the people they have interacted with over a specified time.
There are several methods of collecting data for contact tracing purposes. The two major methods include physical data collection through note-taking. This mainly involves physically writing using pen and paper for proper record keeping. The information collected entails the name of the customer, visitor, or staff member, their contact details, and the time at which they were at the restaurant or bar. Secondly, there are digital means of collecting this information for contact tracing purposes. This mostly involves using an app, especially one related to data collection, or the restaurant or bar’s app or website where most people book their appointments. Digital means of collecting this data is a safer way to go because there is not much physical interaction, unlike the other means where one has to physically write this information even though it can be done over the phone hence making it more of a remote interview.
Problems with the reliability, transmission, storage, and privacy of contact tracing data
Unfortunately, challenges associated with the reliability, transmission, storage, and privacy of this data collected for contact tracing purposes are experienced. On the issue of reliability, some hostile customers regard their contact information as of high value, and they do not like sharing this information with every Tom, Dick, or Harry who has the mandate to ask for this information, especially because a pandemic has made it necessary to do so. These hostile respondents often lie about their contact details, thereby making this information unreliable.
Additionally, the other reliability problem involves digital platforms, especially when people type or key in the wrong name or number, making it difficult for this information to be used for the right purpose....