Los Angeles County Orders Restaurants To Keep TVs Off As Outdoor Dining Resumes And Super Bowl Approaches

Restaurants and breweries were allowed to reopen for outdoor dining in Los Angeles County on Friday, but the revised order from public health officials says “televisions or other screens that broadcast programming must remain off until further notice.”

The Los Angeles Daily News reports, “the restriction is an apparent effort to prevent gatherings of sports fans to watch games and other events, most notably during the most-watched TV show of the year, the NFL’s championship game.” Critics say the mandate could have the opposite effect, driving more people into cramped quarters indoors to watch Super Bowl LV. The big game is set for February 7, when Tom Brady, who has won six rings, leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home against the defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. It is unclear when officials plan to lift the rule.

According to the Daily News, “County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer earlier this week noted concerns about the upcoming Super Bowl leading to gatherings of sports fans, and she noted earlier issued with people gathering at private parties and restaurants to watch Dodger World Series and Lakers NBA Championship games.”

Super Bowl ban: LA County restaurants, breweries can reopen outdoors – but with no TV screens https://t.co/QVzGWd5qoO pic.twitter.com/FHxgVaXj2k

— L.A. Daily News (@ladailynews) January 29, 2021

“We know that Super Bowl Sunday is coming up, and we can’t repeat the mistakes of the past,” Ferrer reportedly said. “It will be tragic if the Super Bowl becomes a super-spreader of coronavirus.”

The Pasadena Public Health Department reportedly plans to update its health order to align with the L.A. County’s requirement for outdoor dining establishments to keep the televisions turned off.

“The concern is the crowding that happens when you draw people to a restaurant for an event,” said Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, Pasadena’s medical officer, in a Friday interview with the Star-News.

The revised L.A. County order includes other measures to ensure physical distancing, such as requiring outdoor dining and wine service seating to be reduced by 50%. “Outdoor tables must be repositioned or removed so that all tables are at least 8 feet apart,” it says. The revisions also limit outdoor dining seating to no more than six people per table, “all of whom must be from the same household.” It says, “All establishments must post signage and verbally inform customers that everyone sharing a table must be from the same household.”

Outdoor dining is back for LA County, with a new health order: https://t.co/CJuQzPg3Hv

– No TV’s can be on
– Eight feet of spacing for tables
– Masks & face shields for servers
– No more than six per table

(Clearly the TV thing is geared at the Super Bowl) @KNX1070

— Mike Simpson (@KNXSimpson) January 29, 2021

The order also requires that “face shields are provided and worn by employees who are or may come into contact with customers,” adding, “the face shield is to be worn in addition to the cloth face covering.”

Those protocols also apply to wineries that were permitted to reopen for wine tasting.

Restaurants are not permitted to host “coordinated, organized or invited events or gatherings,” the guidelines say.

It also requires establishments to follow procedures to communicate desired behavior to the public, such as:

After sanitizing each table between customer parties, dining and wine tasting establishments must place a sign or card (no smaller than 3 x 5 inches) at the table with at least the following or substantially similar instructions:

“Help us keep our business open, protect our staff, and protect fellow diners by following our simple guidelines:

• Keep your mask on until your food or drinks are served and after finishing it/them.
• Put your mask on whenever a server approaches your table.
• Put your mask on whenever you leave your table.
• Wash or sanitize your hands.

Thank you for helping protect the health of our staff and your fellow customers!”

The order adds, “Other options, such as signage, digital boards, menus, among others, may be used to inform and remind customers of these instructions as they are seated and throughout their time at the establishment.”

Los Angeles County is America’s most populous county, with more than ten million residents.

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