NY / 11.12.2020 23:56:16
Eat inside restaurants in the city of NY will be banned again in an attempt to stem a resurgence of the coronavirus, the governor said Andrew Cuomo in an ad that could portend a bleak winter for one of the most important sectors of the Big Apple.
Starting Monday, take-out and eating orders will only be allowed in the outdoor areas of establishments in the city, one of the world’s great culinary capitals, the governor said at a press conference.
Cuomo He had hinted that he would again ban eating inside restaurants for a week, noting that he was just waiting to see if hospitalization rates stabilized, which has not happened. Almost 1,700 patients are hospitalized with covid-19 in the city, triple the number from a month ago.
Cuomo He pointed out that he should act despite the economic damage to the city’s 24,000 restaurants and its legions of employees.
“In New York City, if you put together the warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the transmission rate and the density and the crowding, you have a bad situation,” said Cuomo, who He added that the measure will be evaluated again after two weeks.
The mayor of New York Bill de Blasio he said he supported Cuomo’s decision.
“This is painful. Many restaurants are in trouble. But we cannot allow this virus to assert itself in our city, ”the mayor said on Twitter.
As #COVID19 indicators continue to rise, it’s time to shut down indoor dining. This is painful. So many restaurants are struggling. But we can’t allow this virus to reassert itself in our city.
I fully support @NYGovCuomo‘s decision. Together we’ll fight back this second wave. https://t.co/NWY9xmjGdh
– Major Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 11, 2020
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Restaurant owners fear further damage
In a spacious Lebanese-Mediterranean restaurant in Manhattan, the owner Philippe Massoud He said a ban on serving inside the premises is likely to reduce revenue by 8 to 15 percent, in the best of scenarios.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult”, noted Massoud, who is originally from Lebanon. “I lived through 14 years of civil war (in Lebanon), so it will take a lot to extinguish me. But this is very hard ”.
The restaurant you’re trying to make up for lost sales venturing into retail food and meal kits, such as cheese and flatbread.
However, Massoud is concerned that another ban could make New York City an unsustainable place for restaurant employees who are hurting financially, and for customers wondering if the city is worth living. Big Apple.
“If you can’t go out to eat in the city or have something that resembles a life, Why be in the city?“, he asked himself. “When the social life and the life of dining out dies out, it is no longer a city.”
The governor issued his order despite opposition from the troubled restaurant industry, which warned of layoffs in the year-end season and at a time when the federal government has yet to approve new assistance to make up for COVID losses. -19.
The order is a “huge blow,” he said. Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.
“This move will inevitably result in large-scale layoffs and vast shutdowns before the end of the year holidays,” Fleischut said in a statement, noting that it was “unfair and devastating.”
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