Washington DC to ban indoor dining again

Starting on Wednesday at 10:00 pm, Washington DC will no longer allow people to dine indoors in restaurants, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

These new measures come right behind previous measures implemented by Muriel Bowser, DC's mayor. On Sunday, Bowser had already reduced maximum capacity in the city's restaurants from 50 percent of their normal maximum to 25 percent, as well as prohibiting the sale of alcohol after 10:00 pm.

Chris DeFelice, speaking on behalf of local bar Dirty Water, mentioned that many other businesses in this sector will be very badly affected by the new order.

"Our location is fortunate to seat the majority of our patrons outdoors so Dirty Water will continue to operate, albeit with even more limitations than before," DeFelice said. We are the lucky ones. The majority of other businesses similar to ours may not have the same type of space."

DeFelice went on to say that politicians who write these types of orders should "publicly produce specific tracing data clearly indicating that bars and restaurants indoor seating presents a high risk. The data should match the mandates."

It is estimated that as many as one in six restaurants in the DC area have closed and will not be reopening due to the strict lockdown measures.

Sean Kennedy, the executive vice president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association mentioned that thousands more businesses are in danger of closing.