As far as bars/clubs go, apparently not
Florida imposed a statewide ban Friday on the consumption of alcohol at bars and nightclubs after concluding that many owners and customers failed to follow rules designed to curb COVID-19.
Businesses that earn more than 50% of their revenue from alcohol must stop sales to customers on site immediately, according to an emergency order issued by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Bars can sell alcohol in sealed to-go containers.
Noncompliance, he said, had risen “to such a degree as to make individualized enforcement efforts impractical and insufficient at this time.”
“During the month of June 2020,” Beshears wrote, “the number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 increased significantly in the state of Florida, especially among younger individuals.”
Some coronavirus cases, he added, “are suspected to have originated from visits to bars, pubs, or nightclubs who have disregarded the restrictions” outlined in the second phase of Florida’s economic recovery plan.
South Florida restaurants with bars have kept their bars closed, though they have been allowed to sell alcohol to patrons with dinner at their tables and with takeout orders in sealed containers. But restaurants will continue to lose out on revenue from people who would buy drinks at the bars while waiting for their tables or from those who prefer to have dinner and drinks at the bar.
“Right now our bar is closed,” said a staff member who answered the phone at Zuckerello’s in eastern Fort Lauderdale, “If that’s the regulation right now, there’s nothing we can do. It’s a higher power.”
Charlie Ladd, owner of Barron Leasing Co. and a board member of the Las Olas Association in Fort Lauderdale, called the order “frustrating for everyone.”
“I only hope the improvements we see with mortality continue,” he said by email. “Shutting everything down again doesn’t work, and the case growth doesn’t look like it is going to stop, either.”
Threat from the governor
Earlier this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to pull the licenses of bars elsewhere in the state that failed to follow the state’s reopening guidelines.
The state had suspended the license of a popular Orlando bar near the University of Central Florida this week after at least 13 employees and 28 patrons tested positive. The bar may have been linked to 150 cases, state health officials said at the time.
Texas also clamped down on bars Friday as a surge across the South and West sent the number of confirmed new coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. to a record 40,000.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars closed. Up until now, he had pursued one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any state and had not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but had also refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.
“It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” he said. “The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.”