The president of the Florida-based Yob Family Foundation, Jonathan Yob draws on nearly three decades of philanthropic involvement in the Tampa community. Recently, Jonathan Yob launched the Healthy Meals for Heroes program in partnership with area health care providers and local restaurants. The program provides meals to those workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as revenue to Tampa restaurants that have struggled as a result of the coronavirus.
While there are no requirements for bars and restaurants in Florida to close if an employee tests positive for COVID-19, many have chosen to do so to mitigate the spread of the virus. As of June 19, more than a dozen establishments had temporarily closed their doors for this reason. Others, like Bar HWRD, did so as a precautionary measure.
Restaurants face a difficult dilemma in determining how they respond to positive cases. While they are required to report them to the Florida Department of Health, there are few guidelines on how to handle the issue from there. They aren't required to close, nor do they have to disclose that an employee tested positive. It's a particularly challenging situation, considering that these establishments are also trying to make up for lost revenue as a result of shutdown measures. Jon Yob and the YFF plan a number of similar events in support of Tampa Bay area restaurants, as well as the community’s health care heroes.
