Eddy County backs challenge to statewide ban on indoor dining

SANTA FE — A county in southeastern New Mexico’s oil production region is backing a legal challenge against a statewide ban on indoor dining amid surging coronavirus infections across the state.

Eddy County filed a legal brief with the New Mexico Supreme Court in solidarity with restaurants that say Democratic Gov.

Michelle Lujan Grisham has overstepped her authority by issuing a stay-at-home order and a ban on indoor dining.

County officials say summer heat in southeastern New Mexico makes it especially difficult to operate a restaurant without indoor dining, putting an outsized strain on the area’s economy. Lujan Grisham says restaurant service can be riskier than other business activity because face masks are removed when people eat.

It was unclear when the court will reach a decision.

The Jalisco Cafe in Silver City on Tuesday joined the New Mexico Restaurant Association in urging the court to strike down the indoor dining ban. The restaurant was sanctioned by environmental officials last month for flouting the ban on indoor service.

Separately, a lawsuit backed by the state Republican Party is challenging the governor’s authority to levy fines against businesses that defy public health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oral arguments are scheduled in that case next week.

State health officials reinstated the ban in mid-July amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Mexico has risen over the past two weeks by about 28%, from 253 newly confirmed cases per day on July 13 to 296 additional reported cases per day on July 27, according to an Associated Press analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.