Restaurants and breweries were allowed to reopen for outdoor dining in Los Angeles County on Friday, but the revised order from public health officials says that “televisions or other screens that broadcast programming must remain off until further notice”
The Los Angeles Daily News reports that “the restriction is an apparent effort to avoid meeting sports fans to watch games and other events, especially during the most watched TV show of the year, the NFL championship game.” Critics say the order could have the opposite effect, taking more people into cramped rooms at home to watch the Super Bowl LV. The big game is scheduled for February 7, when Tom Brady, who won six rings, leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home against defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. It is not clear when the authorities plan to repeal the rule.
According to the Daily News, “County public health director Barbara Ferrer earlier this week noted concerns about the upcoming Super Bowl, leading to sports fan gatherings, and she noted previously issued with people meeting in private parties and restaurants to watch Dodger World Series and Lakers NBA championship games. “
Super Bowl Ban: LA County restaurants and breweries may reopen outdoors, but without TV screens https://t.co/QVzGWd5qoO pic.twitter.com/FHxgVaXj2k
– LA Daily News (@ladailynews) January 29, 2021
“We know that Super Bowl Sunday is coming and we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past,” said Ferrer. “It will be tragic if the Super Bowl becomes a coronavirus super propagator.”
The Pasadena Department of Public Health supposedly plans to update its health order to align with LA County’s requirement for outdoor restaurants to keep televisions off.
“The concern is the crowding that happens when you attract people to a restaurant for an event,” said Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, Pasadena’s medical officer, in an interview on Friday with Star-News.
LA County’s revised order includes other measures to ensure physical distance, such as requiring outdoor dining and wine service to be reduced by 50%. “Outdoor tables must be repositioned or removed so that all tables are at least 2.5 meters apart,” he says. The reviews also limit seating for al fresco dining to no more than six people per table, “all of whom must be from the same home.” He says: “All establishments must post signs and verbally inform customers that everyone who shares a table must be from the same house.”
Outdoor dining is back in LA County, with a new health order: https://t.co/CJuQzPg3Hv
– No TV can be connected
– Eight foot spacing for tables
– Masks and face shields for servers
– No more than six per table(Of course the TV thing is geared towards the Super Bowl) @ KNX1070
– Mike Simpson (@KNXSimpson) January 29, 2021
The order also requires that “face shields be provided and used by employees who are or may be in contact with customers”, adding, “face protection should be used in addition to facial cloth cover”.
These protocols also apply to wineries that have been allowed to reopen for wine tasting.
Restaurants are not allowed to host “coordinated, organized or invited events or meetings,” say the guidelines.
It also requires establishments to follow procedures to communicate desired behavior to the public, such as:
After cleaning each table between the customer’s parties, the dining and wine tasting establishments must place a plate or card (not less than 3 x 5 inches) on the table with at least the following or substantially similar instructions:
“Help us to keep our businesses open, protect our staff and other guests, by following our simple guidelines:
- Keep your mask on until your food or drinks are served and after finishing them.
- Put your mask on whenever a server approaches your table.
- Put your mask on whenever you leave the table.
- Wash or disinfect your hands.
Thank you for helping to protect the health of our team and your fellow clients! “
The order adds: “Other options, such as signage, digital pictures, menus, among others, can be used to inform and remind customers of these instructions when they are seated and throughout the time at the establishment”.
Los Angeles County is the most populous county in America, with more than ten million residents.
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