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Los Angeles County reached the red level today, which means that LA officials are likely to allow restaurants will resume covered dinner on Monday – with some restrictions.
Restaurants will have to:
- Operate at 25% of capacity or seat a maximum of 100 people (whichever is less)
- Space tables 8 feet away
- Sends no more than 6 people at a table
- Prohibit people from different families from sitting at the same table (although there is not much that restaurants can do to confirm and enforce this)
Food courts in closed shopping malls you will also be able, once again, to let customers sit and eat under the bright glow of the skin of a Sbarro sign – as long as the food court does not exceed 25% of capacity.
Restaurants in Long Beach, which has its own health department, may also open internal operations with modifications on Monday, officials said.
The city of Pasadena, which also has its own health department, will also allow restaurants to resume meals indoors on Monday, for a announcement by the Pasadena Department of Public Health.
After today’s move to the red layer – which happened when California administers 2 million COVID-19 vaccines to the most affected communities – the LA County Department of Public Health will need to change the public health order before companies can reopen. Employees it could pull the trigger sooner or later, but the formal reopening will likely happen on Monday.
More good news, California recently eased restrictions on breweries, wineries and distilleries what don’t serve food can reopen outdoors in counties in the purple and red layers, beginning this Saturday, March 13. (Previously, these establishments had to wait for future levels to reopen.)
Breweries, wineries and distilleries will have to:
- Require advance reservations
- Limit visits to 90 minutes
- End of alcohol consumption at 8 pm
However, counties have the ability to change state rules to make them more stringent, and LA health officials may decide to do so.
If you are confused because the bar in your neighborhood was open during most of the pandemic, we do not blame you. Breweries and wineriesserving food they are classified as restaurants and start to follow these rules, which allow early reopenings.
About bars that do not serve food? They will remain closed until a county reaches the “orange” level. In the orange layer, they will be able to reopen, but just outdoors.
In the red layer of California’s four-layer reopening plan, other companies may also reopen:
- Internal shopping malls can increase capacity to 50% and their food courts can reopen with 25% of capacity.
- Museums, zoos and aquariums can also open indoors with 25% capacity
- Gyms, fitness centers, yoga and dance studios can open indoors with 10% capacity. Masks are still needed.
Happy dinner.