Coronavirus: What about fast-food restaurants, movies and other crowded businesses?

UPDATE: Chick-fil-A announced Sunday its dining rooms would close to limit virus contact.

Uneasy sitting with a crowd while you watch the latest movie at your local theater? A bit skittish at standing in line to pick up the kids' chicken tenders? 

As schools and other institutions — including the Catholic church in North Jersey — are shutting down completely, businesses vow they're addressing customer coronavirus concerns with actions that range from minimal to radical.

Consider AMC Theatres' announcement: Beginning Saturday, each movie sitting will be considered full when half the seats are booked.

"To give you more empty space around you within our theatres, we are capping ticket availability to 50% of the normal seating capacity for every showtime in every auditorium at all AMC theatres nationwide. Once we hit 50% of an auditorium’s capacity, movie screenings will show as being Sold Out, even though by definition there will be a large number of unfilled seats," CEO Adam Aron said in an announcement.

At some fast food restaurants, don't show up with your own cup or mug. It won't be allowed during the virus pandemic, which President Trump on Friday declared a national emergency.

"We are pausing the use of personal cups and 'for here' ware in our stores," according to a Starbucks announcement. "We will continue to honor the 10-cent discount for anyone who brings in a personal cup or asks for 'for here' ware."

Dunkin' and 7-Eleven have taken the same step, banning reusable mugs. Dunkin' also has halted food sampling.

Institutions with countless "high-touch" surfaces have shut down for about two weeks in Philadelphia. They include the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On Saturday, the Adventure Aquarium in Camden announced it would shut down this Monday and reopen on March 28.

Even the Rivers Casino on Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia will close its doors. The casino said it would close Sunday at midnight and not open again for 14 days.

Not so the casinos in Atlantic City. While they are promising deeper cleaning and cancelling some events, they remain open. Chips at table games and slot machines are high-touch surfaces, with a chip at a table game changing hands several times in just a few minutes.

"Current evidence suggests that novel coronavirus may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials," according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory.

Some amusement venues in the region catering to young children were saying little about coronavirus as of Saturday morning. Most are vowing deeper cleaning and one noted: "Current data indicates that children are not at high risk. Please encourage your child to wash his/her hands or use a hand sanitizer while they are visiting."

Many restaurants are focusing on keeping sick employees from showing up at work. One tactic is to relax the sick-time policy and pay them for sick time.

"Because our people are the heart of our organization, and we understand the impact these actions can have,  we’re amending our sick policy at our company-owned U.S. restaurants to better accommodate our teams while ensuring no one works who is sick. We’ll be paying employees who are required to stay at home, or who work at a restaurant that is closed, for their scheduled or regularly scheduled hours during their time away from work. We’re actively working with our franchise partners to encourage a similar approach," Taco Bell CEO Mark King said in a statement.

Here's a sampling of what some highly frequented places are doing so far:

• Wawa and Royal Farms say they're cleaning high-touch surfaces far more now. "We are giving extra attention to all areas both inside and outside our stores that are high-touch areas, including our fuel dispensers, door handles, windshield washer squeegees, and touchscreen at our deli ordering kiosks. These areas are being cleaned frequently and with detail," according to a Royal Farms statement.
• Chick-fil-A has closed its playgrounds and all meals, including those in the restaurant, are served in carry-out packaging. Drive-through guests no longer will be offered a print menu and "beverage refill service may change."
• Restaurants indicate they are comparing notes more than ever. "We are talking to other restaurant chains around the world to understand what they are doing. We are the most competitive burger brand on the planet. But, there are times to turn down the grill and make sure as a restaurant industry that we are learning from each other. We are staying in touch with our competitors to make sure we’re all doing the right thing together in this situation so that you don’t have to worry about your health when you walk into any restaurant in the United States — whether ours or someone else’s," according to a Burger King statement.
• Wegmans advises customers to wipe down reusable bags with soapy water and let air dry. Or use a disinfecting wipe. "If you have a canvas bag, just toss it in the washer," Wegmans advises. "For food safety and sanitation reasons, we may not be able to load a bag that poses a risk to you, our cashiers or other customers." Wegmans said it is limiting reusable cups to the self-serve coffee bar only.
• Walmart said: "Looking forward, we are pursuing easier ways to sanitize shopping carts. We also have plans in place for third-party sanitization should it be needed for a store impacted by the virus. And we are evaluating whether to modify store hours at some 24-hour facilities to allow for additional cleaning." Walmart said sick employees also will get a break. "Should an associate have a confirmed case of the virus, they’ll receive up to two weeks of pay. If they’re not able to return to work after that time, additional pay replacement may be provided for up to 26 weeks for both full-time and part-time hourly associates."
• ShopRite is emphasizing deep cleaning. "We remain vigilant about regular cleaning and sanitizing of food contact surfaces and we follow a routine of frequent, thorough cleaning of restrooms and public areas with a special focus on check out stations and conveyor belts, credit card keypads and other surfaces regularly handled by customers," according to ShopRite.