CHARLESTON, W.Va. – With the state’s mask mandate lifted on Sunday, businesses and restaurants can now operate at full capacity without any COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Richie Heath, executive director of the West Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association (WVHTA) told MetroNews that although it is now an option, lack of manpower in some places is forcing restaurants to adhere to guidelines such as no ‘use only half of its capacity.

And with pent-up public demand to return to a social world, Heath said it creates stress for many workers in the service industry.

“Venues basically do with huge, full-service crowds with a limited downsized crew. It’s with people doing multiple things and that includes business owners, ”Heath said Monday.

Heath said he had heard from places in the state going through tough times, even arranging interviews for positions and having anyone qualified to fill open positions. Those same companies had to cut their workforce, in some cases by half, during the pandemic to cut costs.

He said Governor Jim Justice’s removal of enhanced pandemic unemployment benefits on June 19 could boost the workforce in the weeks to come. Judge’s ruling suspended an additional $ 300 payment to unemployment benefit recipients, suspended benefits for self-employed or part-time workers who would not ordinarily qualify, ended an extension of benefits for individuals whose regular benefits are exhausted and has stopped an additional 100 benefit some people with mixed incomes.

Many companies have tried to be creative in attracting workers to the job, Heath said, including some incentives. But Heath said restaurants and businesses were only able to go this far because of the financial blow they suffered during the pandemic.

“A lot of people have taken on debt, extra loans,” Heath said. “The relief funds have been helpful and much of it is forgivable at the federal level. It’s definitely something that people are going to dig into, from a business standpoint, over the next few months to a year.

Overall, Heath said business closures were much less worse than expected. He said there were major issues during the winter months to overcome them without alfresco dining and with indoor seats half full.

At this time, customers, whether or not they are vaccinated against COVID-19, will not be required to wear a mask anywhere. Heath said the coming weeks should bring booming sales figures to places with demand, but there are questions about whether the workforce can meet the demand.