Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested Tuesday he's reluctant to restart indoor dining because it's an activity for middle- and upper-income New Yorkers that clashes with his pledge to transform the Big Apple's "Tale of two cities" with progressive policies.
At his daily press briefing, De Blasio was asked why public school students who return to classrooms this fall will eat their lunch inside while restaurants can't reopen indoor dining.
De Blasio reiterated Tuesday that he has no concrete plan to resume indoor dining because it's too high-risk an activity in the age of coronavirus.
New York City is the only state region that still does not permit some indoor dining, while it is allowed in neighboring suburban counties like Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
Dr. Jay Varma, the mayor's senior adviser for public health, also weighed in, saying New York City has two factors to consider: the likelihood that indoor dining could lead to outbreaks of COVID-19 and the "Vulnerability" of the city itself.
"We know through experience everywhere around the world and also from the United States that indoor dining is a very high-risk activity and there's reasons for that," Varma said, pointing to the lack of masks while eating, proximity to other people and duration spent indoors.
De Blasio has faced fierce criticism and the threat of legal action from the restaurant industry, which has suffered massive losses of revenues and jobs that have not been supplanted by takeout and outdoor dining.
https://nypost.com/2020/08/25/nyc-has-no-concrete-plan-to-return-indoor-dining-de-blasio/
No comments:
Post a Comment