Ohio, Illinois closing bars and restaurants to stem coronavirus
Ohio and Illinois ordered the statewide closure of bars and restaurants to combat the coronavirus on Sunday night as local, state and federal officials make tough decisions to keep their citizens safe.
Among those tough decisions are enacting strict travel restrictions, shutting down nonessential businesses, closing schools and instituting quarantines.
Many states and cities throughout the nation severely restricted their nightlife Sunday — closing bars, restaurants and clubs or cutting their hours — in drastic measures intended to fight the coronavirus’s spread but certain to wreak economic havoc.
In Boston, the mayor shut down all beer gardens and asked nightlife venues to close by 11 p.m. — a tactic mirrored in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where officials ordered all bars closed by 10 p.m.
In Chicago, establishments with liquor licenses were told to cap capacity at 100 people and prevent people from forming lines outside — an instruction rendered moot mere hours later when Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, shuttered all bars and restaurants in Illinois through March.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, ordered that all bars and restaurants in his state be shut down effective at 9 p.m. Sunday. “We’re two days from St. Patrick’s Day, when people get together and crowd into bars,” he said. “We are at a crucial, crucial stage.”
Mr. DeWine said he had no idea how long the shutdown would last: “It will be in effect as long as it needs to.”
Ignoring the advice of health experts and Trump administration officials — who have warned the public to stay home as much as possible in an effort to slow the spread of the virus — Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., on
Sunday urged Americans to “go to a local restaurant” during the crisis.
“There’s a lot of concerns with the economy here because people are scared to go out,” Mr. Nunes, a vocal Trump ally, said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “But I will just say, one of the things you can do if you’re healthy — you and your family — it’s a great time to just go out, go to a local restaurant. Likely you can get in easily.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is among those who have said that they personally are steering clear of crowds..
“Right now, myself personally, I wouldn’t go to a restaurant,” Dr. Fauci said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “I just wouldn’t because I don’t want to be in a crowded place . ... I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m going to be, all of a sudden, self-isolating for 14 days.”