Health department to allow self-serve buffets to reopen

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department has announced they will allow self-serve buffets to reopen.

The health department says the change is based on new data regarding the spread of COVID-19, according to a news release.

The release says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates COVID-19 is spread mainly through person-to-person contact, and, while it is possible to contract the virus by touching a surface or object with the virus on it, it is not the main way the virus spreads.

“The highest risk of contracting COVID-19 comes from close person-to-person interaction,” Jackson-Madison County Regional Director Kim Tedford said in the release. “The risk of surface transmission is low.”

Restaurants who do choose to reintroduce self-serve buffets are advised to practice social distancing, hand hygiene and sanitation, according to the release.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on restaurant and business owners,” Tedford said in the release. “We want to help local businesses as much as possible without compromising the health of our community.”