Yelp introduces COVID-19 section on restaurant, business pages as states start reopening

Yelp has launched a feature that allows users to read a business’s health and safety measures, updated services and messages from the business in its new COVID-19 section.

This comes as more states have been reopening their businesses, including restaurants, gyms and beauty salons.

“As businesses are expected to reopen across the country, it will be critical for consumers to hear directly from the business if they're open, what services they're offering during the pandemic and what their health & safety protocols will be,” a statement by the company reads.

With the new feature, businesses can indicate whether they’re offering dine-in service, outdoor seating, in-person visits, as well as virtual services, curbside pickup and delivery options.

Users can also learn about how a business enforces social distancing, have changed their capacity guidelines and sanitizes after each customer visit. Businesses will also be able to indicate whether hand sanitizer and contactless payment are available.

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The feature includes a timestamp indicating when the hours of operation or personalized message was last updated.

Later this month, users will be able to share information on how businesses are handling their health and safety measures through the business’s Yelp page.