What a coincidence: just as Biden is taking office suddenly California, New York, Chicago, DC, and other Democrat controlled places are scaling back their COVID restrictions.
D.C.’s indoor dining ban will end on January 22. Restaurants will be able to return to serving 25% of their regular capacity inside, according to a tweet from John Falcicchio, the chief of staff to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The ban — or as Falcicchio put it, the “Inauguration Pause” — went into effect on December 23, and was part of a series of steps implemented to try to flatten the curve of rapidly-rising coronavirus cases in the District. The order was originally set to expire on January 15, but Bowser extended it by another week, citing public health and safety concerns in the wake of the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol and in the lead-up to the presidential inauguration.
Wow! It's a COVID miracle.
Indoor dining will be allowed to resume in Chicago and suburban Cook County with new rules that bars and restaurants must follow.
Many restaurants and bars feared that if indoor dining did not resume, that they would not survive. If the metrics remain stable Saturday, dining rooms will be allowed to reopen for the first time since fall. Chicago and suburban Cook County were on track to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 mitigations.
Service is resuming to the city earlier than originally planned after three straight days of a positivity rate below 8%.
Indoor diners on the first night of resumed service at Due Lire in Lincoln Square were thrilled to be sitting out of the cold and to be helping out a loved local business.
Just like that, COVID is almost over! Even in California:
Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to lift California's strict stay-at-home orders he imposed on much of the state in December.
In a letter to restaurant owners, the California Restaurant Association says sources tell them that officials with Gov. Newsom's office plan to lift the stay-at-home orders in all regions of the state on Monday.
Don't worry, New York, Governor Cuomo says you'll be next:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lifted restrictions on restaurants in orange zones. That means these establishments, including many in central New York, will be able to invite patrons inside for dinner.
Getting out from under orange zone restrictions is bringing relief to eatery owners like Lauren Monforte of the Beer Belly Deli in Syracuse.
“It’s an absolute lifesaver,” Monforte said.
Since November, when COVID case numbers plunged Syracuse and some nearby communities in the orange zone, Monforte has watched her business shrink, laying off more people each week. This ruling by the state will change that.
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 14: Gov. Andrew Cuomo participates in a video conference call after a nurse is inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine, December 14, 2020 at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, in the Queens borough of New York City. The rollout of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history. (Photo by Mark Lennihan - Pool/Getty Images)