5 coronavirus things: Vaccine distribution plan puts LAUSD’s April reopening in doubt

In this special edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments regarding coronavirus and its impact on onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

Plans to reopen schools for in-person learning on April 9 at Los Angeles USD, the nation’s second-largest public school district, were put into question as Los Angeles County officials unveiled their COVID vaccine distribution plan. To achieve that date, some 25,000 employees, including foodservice workers, would need their first of two doses by March 5, but the distribution formula—likely about 10,000 doses per week shared among LAUSD and other county education establishments including private schools, childcare centers and higher education institutions—falls short of providing the required number of doses in the necessary time window.

Read more: L.A. Unified will get 40% of school staff vaccine doses in effort to target neediest areas

The University of Delaware (UD) saw an unprecedented spike of 300 students testing positive for COVID-19 in a week, a spike “directly linked to the behavior of students in campus dining halls, in off-campus housing and in local bars and restaurants, where too many people are gathering without following health protocols,” according to University President Dennis Assanis. In response, UD has limited dining halls to grab-and-go meals and restricted indoor gathering over meals

Related:Innovator of the Month: B&I café at Wantable headquarters serves a critical socialization function for its client’s employees

Read more: University of Delaware's COVID-19 cases spike; president says they could soon exceed total from fall

Employees working from home “essentially become consultants” as in-person discussions in corporate cafeterias and at coffee machines are important in building relationships among staff and with the company, says Robert Shillman, founder and chairman of electronics manufacturing firm Cognex Corp., reflecting the concern many company executives have about the emerging remote work culture accelerated by the COVID pandemic. Currently, only about 20% to 30% of Cognex employees are showing up to work in the office while the rest work from home.

Read more: Cognex chairman: People working from home become 'consultants'

Duke University is reopening its Brodhead Center, Bryan Center, Trinity Café and Marketplace dining venues to limited indoor seating for the first time since Oct. 30, when all on-campus indoor dining options were shut down due to a steadily rising rate of COVID cases. The newly reopened seating options are standing tables for one person only.

Related:District buys dedicated school meal delivery van

Read more: In from the cold: Duke reopens single-person indoor dining tables

Illustrating the vulnerability of school systems to COVID infections among dining staff, Dadeville High School and Dadeville Elementary School in Alabama reverted to remote learning for a week after staff in their shared cafeteria were exposed to the virus and went into quarantine. The schools reopened for in-person learning after the quarantine period ended.

Read more: Dadeville schools to return to class Friday as lunchroom staff is freed from quarantine

Bonus: One On One: Founder of hot campus concept Chick-N-Bap on business during the pandemic and a whole new kind of fast-casual fusion

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]