N.Y. Officials Halt Indoor Dining, Alarmed by Virus Rise in Other States - The New York Times

With the coronavirus spreading rapidly in other large states like California, Florida and Texas, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday that New York City would not resume indoor dining at restaurants next week as anticipated.

The decision to indefinitely delay indoor dining, which was made in conjunction with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, comes as New York officials are increasingly concerned that the increase in virus cases in more than 30 states could trickle back to New York, which has managed to rein in the outbreak.

“Indoors is the problem more and more,” said Mr. de Blasio, adding, that “the news we have gotten from around the country gets worse and worse.”

“It is not the time to forge ahead with indoor dining,” he added.

At a news conference later on Wednesday morning, Mr. Cuomo agreed that bringing back indoor dining in the city was “imprudent,” pointing to the rising rates of infection elsewhere that he said were “storm clouds on the horizon.”

Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, suggested that indoor dining could resume once more citizens complied with wearing masks and social distancing, and when case numbers nationally stabilized.

But he chided Mr. de Blasio, a fellow Democrat but a regular political foe, and other local officials for not doing enough insure that residents were abiding social distancing rules. “Citizen compliance is slipping,” he said.

“Local government has to step up and do their job,” he said, adding that “its much worse” in New York City.

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The move to delay indoor dining came on the heels of a similar announcement by Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey to halt a planned restart of indoor dining that was to have gone into effect on Thursday.

New York City is scheduled to enter into Phase 3 of the state reopening plan on Monday, which allows for restaurants and other establishments to serve patrons indoors under a series of occupancy and service restrictions.

On Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo announced that visitors from 16 states, including the nation’s three largest — California, Florida and Texas — would be required to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in New York, a move made in coordination with Mr. Murphy and Ned Lamont, the governor of Connecticut.

Florida and Texas, in particular, have had to retrench in the face of surging cases after allowing bars and restaurants to reopen with some indoor seating.

And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered indoor operations at restaurants, bars, wineries and movie theaters to shut down in 19 counties, including Los Angeles, following a spike in cases and lax adherence to social distancing protocols.

Mr. Cuomo has said New York City, the most populous city in the nation, faces a unique set of challenges as it continues to gradually reopen. The city’s density, its mass transit system and its stature as a tourist destination could once again make the city a breeding ground for the virus, which has already killed more than 30,000 people in the state, with the vast majority of those victims in the city and its suburbs.

In mid-March, as the pandemic unfurled in New York and experts projected hospitals would be overwhelmed with tens of thousands of cases, officials shut down the city’s bars and restaurants.

While many of them remained open for pickup and deliveries, many shuttered indefinitely even as other pillars of the economy buckled, including Broadway theaters. Representatives of that industry announced on Monday that Broadway would remain closed for the entirety of 2020.

On Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio said that the restriction in indoor dining was not permanent, but would remain in place until “we have evidence that we can do it safely.”

The decision to restrict restaurants and bars in New York City to outdoor dining — which was allowed last week as part of Phase 2 of reopening — would not affect other parts of the state, where indoor dining has already resumed.

The decision to bar indoor dining was likely to lead to more financial pain for the city’s eateries, and an ongoing adaptation for customers now corralled in makeshift sidewalk dining rooms, though many restaurant-goers have come to enjoy the new outdoor accommodations. It could also disproportionately impact restaurants with no easy street-level access to set up outdoor dining.

The Coronavirus Outbreak

• Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

  Updated June 30, 2020

  • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

    Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

  • What’s the best material for a mask?

    Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles.

  • Is it harder to exercise while wearing a mask?

    A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.

  • I’ve heard about a treatment called dexamethasone. Does it work?

    The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.

  • What is pandemic paid leave?

    The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.

  • Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?

    So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

  • What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

    Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

  • How does blood type influence coronavirus?

    A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

  • How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

    The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

  • How can I protect myself while flying?

    If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

  • What should I do if I feel sick?

    If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

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Melissa Fleischut, the president and chief executive of the New York State Restaurant Association, said the decision underscored the importance of increased regulatory flexibility to help restaurants stay afloat, noting the need to continue allowing bars to sell liquor in to-go cups. She also called for the expansion of the city’s “open streets” program to allow restaurants to accommodate tables on closed streets, something the mayor said he was considering on Wednesday.

“I don’t know anybody who would have the capacity outdoors that they have indoors,” she said. “The sales are just not anywhere where they need to be to make restaurants profitable.”

Other states — including Illinois, Minnesota and Oregon — have allowed indoor dining with certain restrictions on capacity and distancing, like spacing tables at least six feet apart. In New York, regions that have entered Phase 3 of reopening, which includes every part of the state except New York City, permit indoor dining with up to 50 percent capacity.

But in the past few days, Mr. Cuomo has homed in on mounting evidence that indoor spaces, especially those that are poorly ventilated or cramped, pose a higher risk for the virus’s transmission than outdoor spaces do. Mr. Cuomo has also said air-conditioning could be helping spread the virus.

Earlier this week, he said that large malls wishing to reopen would need to implement specialized air conditioning filters capable of filtering out coronavirus particles. He also encouraged businesses and office spaces to do the same.

Heather C. Briccetti, the president of the Business Council of New York State, said that the pause on reopening indoor dining rooms re-emphasized the fragility of the state’s recovery, and the need for federal help for small businesses and the local governments that rely on their sales tax.

“I think it highlights the need for the feds to get their act together,” Ms. Briccetti said, adding that “local government has lost their shirts” in the crisis.

Ms. Briccetti added that the sudden change of plans for restaurants — some of whom had bought perishable food items in expectation of heavier demand next week — would add to their travails.

“It’s certainly not going to be welcome news for folks,” she said. “Everything feels so uncertain. And the one thing that businesses crave is certainty.”

Amanda Rosa contributed reporting.

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