An industry group called Save Philly Restaurants is planning to offer free; weekly testing for hospitality workers and their families at the start of 2021.The group has combined its resources for the project, which will begin January 7 at The Goat, a temporarily closed pub in the city center.
The plan, according to the website Food and Wine, consists in offering four hours of testing at least one day a week (starting Thursday, but with a potential second day) for the indefinite future.
As stated by the group co-founder, Nicole Marquis, Save Philly Restaurants decided to assume the problem of testing as their own initiative. “After asking, begging and pleading for free rapid testing from our city, state, and federal government for our employees throughout the pandemic, Save Philly Restaurants has secured free weekly testing for all employees of the Philadelphia restaurant industry through our own research and legwork.”
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The coalition reportedly includes about 50 restaurateurs from as many as 250 establishments, with funding for the program coming via the CARES Act, allowing Save Philly Restaurants to administer up to hundreds of free tests per session at no cost to restaurant workers and their families, regardless of whether they have insurance or not.
Quick control
“Free rapid testing will allow restaurants to keep employees and customers safe, quickly control an outbreak and get back to business if anyone on their teams does test positive, and save thousands of dollars on testing when a COVID scare occurs,” Marquis said, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The Goat was offered up as a free, centrally-located space by owner Fergus Carey, owner of a number of Philly’s most recognizable bars including Fergie’s Pub and Grace Tavern. He explained that, before temporarily closing his restaurants, he was occasionally paying $75 a pop for tests for employees. “This can speed things up and everyone can get tested once a week,” he said, according to the Business Journal. “You can feel better yourself, know you’re not positive and you know your employer knows.”
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