New Jersey and California on Monday took a big step toward resumption of their pre-pandemic economies by allowing restaurants to begin limited indoor dining, as new coronavirus cases abated nationwide even as some new hotspots emerged.
The two states are among the few that have continued to ban indoor dining while most others have lifted restrictions, according to the National Governors Association.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the state’s restaurants and movie theaters could open for indoor service on Friday for the first time since a coronavirus shutdown in March. But they must limit indoor patrons to 25% of their capacity, and space seating between groups in accordance with social-distancing rules, Murphy said at a news conference.
“Masks are required to be worn at all times in the theater unless you’re pulling it down to put away a handful of popcorn,” Murphy said.
California will immediately allow indoor dining in 19 counties, including San Diego. Gyms, houses of worship and movie theaters in those counties are also open for indoor activities with limited capacity.
While indoor dining bans are still in effect in California counties where most residents live, hair salons were allowed to reopen statewide on Monday with modifications under a system unveiled on Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Coronavirus cases rose in 10 states, including South Dakota, up from eight states a week ago, according to a Reuters analysis.
South Dakota health officials said they traced 105 new cases to the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally that drew hundreds of thousands of people from Aug. 7 to 16. Overall, cases in the state rose last week by more than 2,000, or 104%, according to a Reuters analysis.
In New York City, once the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, Mayor Bill de Blasio ruled out a resumption of indoor dining anytime soon for the city’s thousands of restaurants.
“It would take a huge step forward to get to that point,” de Blasio told a briefing on Monday.
The economic fallout from the pandemic has left the most populous U.S. city with a budget shortfall of rising costs and depressed revenue, prompting de Blasio to warn that 22,000 jobs may need to be cut.
But on Monday he said he would suspend layoffs “on a day-to-day basis” while municipal union leaders try to convince state lawmakers in Albany to go back into session and authorize the city to borrow several billion dollars in the long-term debt markets.
New Jersey and New York were the country’s two hardest-hit states when the virus began spreading in the United States in the spring, but have since brought their infection rates down to among the nation’s lowest.
Nationally, new cases fell 2% last week, the sixth consecutive week of declines. But the number of new infections still averages more than 41,000 a day. On Sunday, the country reached 6 million cases since the start of the pandemic, nearly a quarter of the world’s total.
The United States also has the most coronavirus-related deaths in the world at over 183,000, and ranks 11th for deaths per capita. Brazil, Peru, Sweden, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom are among the nations with higher per capita deaths.
Deaths nationwide rose in 12 states, compared with 13 states a week ago.
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