FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Why must TVs remain off at L.A. County restaurants? Yelling, screaming can spread coronavirus, officials say [Los Angeles Times]
It’s a ritual of dining out to look out for the big screen televisions to keep updated on the Lakers score or monitor the NFL or soccer, even if your occasion is celebrating Mom’s birthday or closing a business deal.
But with Los Angeles County’s new rules for outdoor dining, which took effect Friday, TVs must remain off.
It’s one of several new regulations imposed as the county allowed eateries to have outdoor dining again after a devastating winter surge in COVID-19 cases.
It’s a ritual of dining out to look out for the big screen televisions to keep updated on the Lakers score or monitor the NFL or soccer, even if your occasion is celebrating Mom’s birthday or closing a business deal.
But with Los Angeles County’s new rules for outdoor dining, which took effect Friday, TVs must remain off.
It’s one of several new regulations imposed as the county allowed eateries to have outdoor dining again after a devastating winter surge in COVID-19 cases.
Advertisement
Outdoor seating also will be limited to no more than six people per table and everyone sitting together must be from the same household, the health order mandates.
After a two-month shutdown due to surging COVID-19 cases, patio dining returned to Los Angeles County today but with a new restriction forcing restaurants to turn off or remove all televisions from customer seating areas a clear effort to prevent gatherings of sports fans.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
The county’s revised Health Officer Order also reinstates previous restrictions on outdoor dining, requiring servers to wear masks and face shields, limiting restaurants to 50% of patio capacity, limiting tables to no more than six people and requiring tables to be at least 8 feet apart.
But the order also states: “Televisions or any other screens that are used to broadcast programming must be removed from the area or turned off.”