The tables are spaced out allowing for adequate social distance while customers enjoy lunch indoors at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York. | Mary Altaffer, Archive / AP Photo
ALBANY, NY – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is allowing restaurants in most parts of the state to resume dining indoors, following a court decision that allowed some restaurants in the Buffalo area to reopen.
Restaurants in areas that the state has designated as “orange zones” face restrictive rules that include a ban on eating indoors. Almost 100 establishments in Erie County contested that designation in court. A state judge sided with them on Wednesday, concluding that the state offered no “rationale” to continue with the stricter restrictions, without imposing them on other parts of the state with higher hospitalization rates. The judges’ action allowed these restaurants to operate temporarily under the less restrictive “yellow zone” designation, which allows 50% of the capacity.
“We are reviewing the decision,” said government board Kumiki Gibson in a statement on Thursday. “While this process is underway, to ensure uniformity and fairness, all restaurants operating in the Orange Zones can now operate under the rules that govern the Yellow Zones. We disagree with the court’s decision and its impact on public health, since data from the federal CDC clearly demonstrate that indoor meals increase the spread of COVID-19. Since the beginning of this pandemic, the State has acted based on facts and on the advice of public health experts, and we will continue with this approach ”.
The state lists seven orange zones, in places that include Westchester County and the cities of Syracuse, Rochester and Elmira.
The move, however, does not allow indoor dining in New York City, where it has been banned by other factors, including its population density, rather than being classified as an orange zone.