VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Several restaurants are closing for days at a time after having an employee test positive for COVID-19. Aunt Catfish’s on the River closed Sunday and all staff went to get tested.
“This virus started outside the building and was brought to us in numerous ways, and every business is dealing with that and every household is dealing with that,” Brendan Galbreath said.
Galbreath is the restaurant’s owner and said he closed the doors to keep staff and customers safe, while brainstorming ideas for a more conservative reopening come Tuesday. He’s already installed glass to separate areas, constantly sanitizing and is following CDC guidelines.
“Maybe do you go to one location for ordering? For some of our self service areas, do they get served by employees to the customers, so we don’t have all the touching?” he said.
Norwood's Eatery and Treehouse Bar closed its doors on Wednesday night after an employee tested positive. Restaurant owner Don Simmons said the rest of his staff got tested as well. He said in addition to following CDC guidelines, he bought two machines, a nebulizer to fog surfaces and a sprayer to sterilize.
“We do almost a COVID cleaning every single day. We use the HOCL, which is electrolyzed saltwater. So, the mystery of this stuff, that it’s so effective, it’s 50 times stronger than bleach yet it’s neutral so it doesn’t hurt people,” Simmons said.
Volusia County doesn't have a face mask mandate, but local medical experts strongly suggest businesses continue social distancing and wearing masks. They also urge staff and customers to stay home if they're sick.
“I don’t think we’re at the end, I think we’re in the middle as a society. I think the whole thing is staying healthy going forward and figure out the finances of how to stay in business, simultaneously,” Galbreath said.