Indoor dining once again barred in New York restaurants amid Coronavirus surge

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 Indoor dining in New York City will have to close again as the city tries to combat a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that indoor dining throughout the five boroughs must cease on Monday because COVID-19 hospitalizations have not stabilized and the infection rate is continuing to increase.

The governor hinted at the restriction earlier this week when he announced that if hospitalization rates for coronavirus patients did not stabilize after five days, indoor dining would be reevaluated on a region-by-region basis. In New York City, it would close completely and capacity would be reduced to 25% in other regions across the state. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also said this week that virus-related restrictions were all but certain in the coming days.

While indoor dining in the city is banned, outdoor dining, take-out and delivery dining services will continue. Indoor dining only resumed in New York City in September and as temperatures drop, deterring residents from eating outside, the indoor closures are a potentially devastating blow to one of the hardest-hit industries of the pandemic.

Across the state, the positivity rate is 4.98% and officials report 5,321 hospitalizations. Eighty-seven people died of COVID-19 on Thursday.

Cuomo also announced that 170,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be delivered to New York state this weekend, with an additional 346,000 doses of Moderna's vaccine expected to be delivered the week of Dec. 21. They will be given to high-risk hospital workers, emergency services workers, nursing home residents and staff, as well as other health care-related personnel.

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