El Paso County commissioners will request a waiver from Gov. Jared Polis to loosen statewide restrictions to allow restaurants to again serve diners.

The board unanimously approved the request Thursday morning, as state-ordered restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus stretched into the eighth week.

Under the proposal, restaurants will be allowed to seat up to 30% of its capacity during the week — and up to 50% Friday through Sunday — with a cap of 50 people. Seating must allow for diners to sit with 6 feet away from other customers.

Restaurants are encouraged, but not required, to keep a record of the name and phone number of at least one adult from every party for at least 21 days so that the public health department can do contact tracing if someone is later found to have the virus.

The restaurant’s staff can also voluntarily keep track of table assignments and departure times to help in the department’s investigation.

“I think moving forward, there’s going to have to be a lot of personal responsibility to battle this virus,” said said Greg Howard, president of Pikes Peak chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association. “But as a business owner and operator and an industry leader, I know that we take this very seriously. The last thing we want to do is go backwards.”

If a case is identified, state law mandates that a restaurant must cooperate with the health department in its epidemiological investigation.

Howard called the waiver “a step in the right direction,” noting that some restaurants have not received any financial assistance.

Most local restaurants already have a system to collect information for reservations, he said, and he thinks that most restaurants would be willing to collect the information as a way to protect their staff and patrons if an outbreak is identified.

“This is so that if there is a problem, we are not part of it, we are part of the solution,” Howard said.

The wavier —which was developed with guidance from the Pikes Peak chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association and the Economic Development Chambers Recovery Council — must be approved by the county’s hospitals before it is sent to the governor.

If it is approved by the state, the health department will issue a public health order permitting restaurants to reopen if they choose to, said Lori Seago, an attorney for El Paso County Public Health

Other stipulations included keeping the table bare, removing items like salt and pepper shakers that are touched often, using single-use menus, and replacing tablecloths in between parties. Groups will be limited to 10 people or less and must be from the same household or social group, the waiver stated.

This is a developing story and will be updated.