RESTAURANTS REOPEN & RISK FINES FROM STATES

Restaurant owners across the U.S. have decided to reopen their establishments despite states’ COVID mandates and the risk of fines because they are at the end of their financial ropes.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that restaurant owners in states such as Michigan, Illinois, and California are dealing with the stark reality there is no clear end in sight for lockdowns, and there is a good chance COVID’s new variant will increase the number of people infected with the virus.
The paper interviewed the owner of the Glen Oak Café in Glen Ellyn, IL. The owner said he can keep the restaurant open due to deliveries and a $57,000 federal loan, but he’s “not making anything.”
The health department in Glen Ellyn told the WSJ it has received 228 complaints about indoor dining since last year’s ban went into effect. 
COVID has decimated the entire restaurant industry, according to the paper. There were 372,000 jobs cut nationwide in December, and restaurants in many states have seen up to a 70 percent drop in sales.
Health officials say these bans are necessary because a person cannot eat and wear a mask at the same time.
The Associated Press reported that restaurants across Oregon have also decided to open despite the state mandate that started on 1 January.
“We’re not going to back down because our employees still need to eat, they still need that income,” Bryan Mitchell, the owner of the Carver Hangar in the town of Boring, told the AP. ”The statement that we’re making is, ‘Every life is essential. You have the right to survive. Nobody should tell you what you can and cannot do to provide for your family.’”
Governor Kate Brown said restaurants that don’t follow state guidelines are risking the health of the community and face hefty fines.
“We can’t waver in our response to the virus now when the end is finally in sight and resources are on the way. We are better than this,” Brown said.
Stan Pulliam, the mayor of Sandy, OR, pointed out that over 300 small businesses have joined the so-called “Open Oregon” coalition. He told the AP these businesses cannot survive if the lockdown continues. Mr. Pulliam commented,

“These are individuals that are to the end of their rope. Their decision is not to thumb their nose at the governor. It’s really a decision to open up or lose everything they’ve worked for their entire lives… We’re saying, ‘Hey, if you’re going to open, let’s do this right.’”

TRENDPOST: Again and again, we note the unscientific lunacy of the closing down of restaurants and putting millions out of business and tens of millions out of work.
According to America’s famed Lockdown Lord, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, back in December, when he ordered New York City’s restaurants must stop serving meals indoors, he said only 1.4 percent of virus cases could be traced to restaurants and bars.