D.C.’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board voted unanimously Wednesday to end the measure that requires the city’s restaurants, bars, and nightclubs to collect contact-tracing information of guests and offer a reservation system.

D.C. nightlife advocate Mark Lee first tweeted the news of the vote.

The requirement will end on June 11, when the last of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s pandemic-era business restriction on nightclubs and other large venues will lift. 

The contact-tracing requirement has allowed D.C. to track COVID-19 outbreaks by setting type, but the city’s ability to gather the data was often difficult, and often yielded inconclusive results. As of last fall, D.C. contact tracers weren’t asking individuals who tested positive after visiting a restaurant whether they dined indoors or outdoors (an important distinction). And when someone partakes in multiple activities, pinning down the point of transmission becomes challenging. Throughout the pandemic, the city also struggled to meet its own goals of contacting those who tested positive within a timely manner.

According to the city’s data, restaurants and bars account for 26 outbreaks — meaning two or more cases were reported at a location with a plausible link — since the outbreak tracking began in July of last year. The most recent outbreak at a restaurant or bar setting was recorded during the week of April 16 of this year.

Businesses can choose to maintain their reservation-only systems or continue to collect patrons’ information for contact tracing purposes, but will no longer be required to do so under D.C.’s pandemic-induced emergency orders. In Virginia and Maryland, the public health guidance for restaurants encourages but does not require reservations.

Reservations have become increasingly popular during the pandemic to help businesses manage their capacities, and might be with us for a while as the post-pandemic restriction period moves forward. Capacity limits ended for restaurants in late May, but some are taking the reopening a bit slower for a variety of reasons. And with streateries now a hot commodity, reservations allow businesses to avoid potentially overloaded patios.