COVID19

Retrenched because of Covid-19, ex-hotel workers in Penang provide delicious packed meals at W. Kitchen

By Elizabeth W. Jernigan 1 month ago
W. Kitchen staff prepares lunch boxes for delivery and takeaways. — Picture by Steven Ooi KE

W. Kitchen staff prepares lunch boxes for delivery and takeaways. — Picture by Steven Ooi KE

GEORGE TOWN, March 11 — When The Northam All Suite Hotel closed its doors last June for a massive two-year renovation, most of its employees were laid off.

Wang Chen Yee, 54, who was the general manager, decided to start a small food business and roped in some of the former hotel employees.

“We were retrenched so I was thinking of what to do next and I wanted to do something to help those who are talented but with nowhere to go,” he said.

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Chez Panisse temporarily closes following ‘potential exposure’ to COVID-19

By Elizabeth W. Jernigan 2 months ago

Alice Waters’s storied Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, has temporarily closed following a possible COVID-19 exposure, the restaurant announced.

The restaurant stated via social media that it would be closed from Feb. 24-27 and reopen Feb. 28, but did not offer a reason behind the weeklong closure. In a newsletter emailed to subscribers, however, the restaurant expanded on why it is closing, citing a “potential exposure” on Feb. 18. The news of this week’s temporary closure was first reported Tuesday by Berkeleyside.

The newsletter reads, in part:

Last week was an exciting turning point in the pandemic when food

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Ministry of Health Thanks CP Group and CP Foods for COVID-19 Relief Efforts

By Elizabeth W. Jernigan 2 months ago

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed thanks to Charoen Pokphand Group and Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CP Foods) for the covid-19 relief efforts to help Thailand tackle the new wave of coronavirus outbreak during the hand-over ceremony of food supplies and masks.

The company has donated 83,200 packs of ready-to-eat meals and 30,000 pieces of surgical masks as a part of “CPF Food from the Heart against COVID-19” project.

“CP Foods is the kitchen of the world. The kitchen that creates jobs and helps generate significant income for Thailand. In the midst of a crisis,

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New Report Outlines Impact of COVID-19 on NYC’s Street Food Vendors

By Elizabeth W. Jernigan 2 months ago

Ahead of a City Council vote tomorrow to significantly add to the number of street vendor permits in the city, a new report outlines the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on New York City’s street vending community, a majority of whom are immigrants, and people of color.

The report focuses on two separate periods during the course of the pandemic last year: April 2020, when cases and deaths were peaking in the city and businesses and vendors faced the most amount of restrictions; and in June 2020, when restrictions had been eased significantly.

Despite street vendors being categorized as

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