DES MOINES, Iowa — The state of Iowa is now in a public health emergency, per Gov. Kim Reynolds. As a result, all restaurants have now closed their dining rooms and have gone exclusively to carry out and delivery orders.
So you can still get food from your favorite restaurants, but is it safe? There are plenty of precautions to take to eat your meals as safely as possible.
First, when ordering your food through apps like Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats, be sure to say something like "I am healthy and request a non-contact pick-up" under special instructions. This means the delivery person will leave the food outside your door with no actual human interaction.
Then, you'll want to put the contents of whatever take-out container the food comes in and put it in your own bowls or containers. This is because the virus can live on plastic for longer than a lot of other surfaces. Once that's done, put the original take-out container back into the bag or box it came in and throw it away.
After that, immediately wash your hands for 20 seconds, dry them with a paper towel and shut the faucet off with your paper towel.
So if you want to order from your favorite places, you can still do that with a certain degree of safety. Not sure if the restaurant you want is still open? Click here for a list of places you can order from.