Cities And States Across The U.S. Are Suspending Or Restricting Indoor Dining As COVID-19 Cases Spike
As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise around the United States, many cities and states have started rolling back and placing restrictions on activities that put people inside, including indoor seating at bars and restaurants.
Last week, Oregon announced a "Two-Week Freeze" aimed at slowing infections in the state. This will take place from November 18-December 2, and involves, among other things, making restaurants delivery- and take-out only, as well as limiting grocery stores and pharmacies to 75 percent capacity.
San Fransisco announced it was going to "roll back the reopening of indoor dining" as of last Friday, saying that "indoor dining at restaurants or bars serving meals in any context including standalone restaurants, food courts in shopping centers, and dining establishments in hotels, museums or other venues" must stop until further notice. The city said in a statement that it has seen a 250 percent increase in COVID-19 cases since October 2.
The city of Chicago announced that it was essentially going back into lockdown, issuing stay at home orders as of this week. It had already suspended indoor dining or service at bars or restaurants as of the end of October. New Mexico ordered on-site dining closed until November 30 as of this week, though restaurants can still provide take-out and delivery. Washington state announced that restaurants and bars must close for indoor service as of this Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. This will remain in effect until December 14.
New York and New Jersey both issued mandates last week in response to climbing cases, though they have not completely shut down indoor dining or reduced capacity. In New York, all bars and restaurants will be required to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Delivery and takeout food can still be sold after 10, but takeout cocktails cannot. In New Jersey, restaurants and bars will have to close indoor services from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. but outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery services may continue past 10. In Maryland, indoor dining capacity has been reduced from 75 percent to 50 percent as of last week.
Closing and restricting restaurant operations has been a tough topic in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On one hand, indoor dining is seen by many experts as one of the more high-risk things you can do. A recent study tracking cellphone data in 10 cities from March to May found that “restaurants were by far the riskiest places, about four times riskier than gyms and coffee shops, followed by hotels,” Stanford University computer scientist Jure Leskovec told reporters, according to The New York Times. The United States has been reporting more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases daily, with 135,187 as the most recent daily number of new cases as of this writing.
But restrictions on capacity and hours—as well as closing indoor dining outright—can have an enormous financial impact on these restaurants and bars, most of which have already been hugely impacted by the pandemic.
“Any call for limiting restaurant operations must be coupled with a call to provide stimulus, otherwise they are not going to be around when it’s OK for them to reopen,” executive director of New York City Hospitality Alliance Andrew Rigie told the Times.
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