Restaurant fight fizzles, but the coronavirus pandemic rages on

The fight over the opening of bars and restaurants in Anne

Arundel County ended with a fizzle. The case was dismissed because of a new order limiting indoor dining to 25% capacity. Regardless, it was a mistake for Circuit Court Judge Robert

Mulford II to hear the case. He should have dismissed the complaint immediately as did judges in Montgomery and Prince George counties.

The pandemic is raging around the world despite all kinds of public health measures. Europe was shut down longer than the United States, yet is getting slammed again. California — land of outdoor living and regulations — are implementing lockdowns based on the availability of ICU beds. Sweden is imposing new restrictions, cases in South Korea are surging.

The virus seems to come back with gusto.

Cases, hospitalization and death around our region are still climbing regardless of day to day swings in the data.

We are also learning about a new more “viral” variant in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Colorado announced identification of a related variant in a young man without a travel history. It won’t be long before the more contagious variant is identified in many more States. In addition, there are reports of “long haulers,” people with persistent symptoms.

There are some serious known and unknown unknowns here.

We do know some things with certainty. Restaurants are being hammered economically. A lot of people who were living on an edge before are not making it now. Many of them are also the most likely to become ill. We need to get help to those folks ASAP.

On Wednesday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot asked Gov. Larry Hogan to release funds from a $2 billion Rainy Day fund, $1 billion of which is “not earmarked.”

Hogan said he wanted to see what was in the federal package before releasing those funds. Well now we know, the Feds aren’t doing enough right now. Can’t we all agree that it is a rainy day?

The crux of the restaurateur’s argument was that businesses are suffering irreparable harm because of the restrictions. We should treat these folks like farmers, how much can we pay you not to serve food indoors? The CARES Act did this with some success. People could afford to stay home if they received an extra $600 per week in their unemployment checks. We saw the positive effects of flattened curves and a jolt of consumer spending that helped the economy.

Multiple well-done studies have established that spending more than 15 minutes conversing with someone sitting close without a mask increases risk of transmission and doing so indoors is even riskier. Indoor dining is associated with higher transmission rates in communities, more than other public indoor activities. Don’t overthink it, sometimes things are just as they seem.

Another important factor to consider is that there are safe and effective vaccines being rolled-out in communities across the country right now. Let’s give healthcare workers a chance to get vaccinated before we go out to celebrate!

County Executive Steuart Pittman is being cautious with good reason. He is certainly not trying to win any popularity contests. It would be immeasurably easier for him to go along with the governor and not take personal responsibility.

Restaurateurs seeking an injunction to prevent the implementation of public health restrictions was perhaps inevitable given the high stakes of the game we are all being forced to play.

However, Mulford did us no service by pretending he was qualified to make tough decisions about protecting public health.