Yelp to indicate how well restaurants are enforcing coronavirus protocols

Online review company Yelp on Tuesday announced that it would be adding a feature to show if users observed whether COVID-19 guidelines were being followed at a business.

“Starting today, Yelp will display if users observed, or did not observe, the enforcement of social distancing and staff wearing masks,” the company shared in a blog post. 

“We know many businesses are prioritizing the health and safety of their customers. This new update further highlights how businesses have adapted to keep their customers safe, and aims to instill confidence in consumers to continue supporting local businesses,” the post continued.

Users of Yelp’s app and website will now be able to see what customers are saying about a business’s health practices under the “Health & Safety Measures.” Currently, “social distancing enforced” and “staff wears masks” are the only two areas where user observations can be shown as they are the most easily viewable for most customers.

According to Yelp, measures will be put in place to ensure that feedback is “fairly represented and not based on any one person’s observation.”

These include requiring several user responses on whether COVID guidelines are being enforced, allowing only logged-on Yelp users to provide health feedback and only displaying observations made in the previous 28 days.

Businesses will also be able to make use of new health-centric features. They will be able to display what health guidelines they are currently using such as checking staff for symptoms, outdoor service and limited group sessions at fitness businesses.

“As the pandemic continues to change our daily lives, we are relentlessly focused on addressing the needs of both local businesses and consumers by providing helpful and up-to-date information during these uncertain times,” said Yelp. “We remain committed to continuing to support our community through the pandemic by building solutions that help them stay connected.”