White House testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir pushed back Monday against bans on outdoor dining, saying that the “evidence just isn’t there” to support such novel coronavirus prohibitions from a public health standpoint.
“The evidence clearly does not support limitations on things like outdoor dining, particularly that are spaced, outdoor bars,” said Adm. Giroir, a pediatrician and Health and Human Secretary assistant secretary.
“You know, the evidence just isn’t there,” he said. “And remember, shutting down completely, particularly if you don’t have evidence, can be counterproductive.”
His comments came after California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shutdown order banning for several weeks of outdoor dining went into effect at midnight Sunday in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley.
Hopefully Giroir’s comments find their way into the Calif. Restaurant Assn’s presentation to a judge later this week. https://t.co/uzq0lFFIIz
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) December 7, 2020
“Remember: this is temporary. Hope is on the way. Relief is on the way. A vaccine is coming — with first doses arriving in the next few weeks,” Mr. Newsom tweeted Thursday. “We can get through this — together.”
The order, aimed at stemming the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, has triggered a backlash from the owners of restaurants and other small businesses hit by the shutdown.
Los Angeles County enacted a ban last month on outdoor dining, prompting a protest Saturday outside the home of county supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who voted Nov. 24 for the prohibition and then went to her favorite restaurant.
She has said she was not violating any rules. Other California officials, including Mr. Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo have also been accused of hypocrisy for violating shutdown orders that they themselves have espoused.
The governor’s latest public-health order announced Thursday prohibits a host of economic and social activity, including indoor and outdoor dining, in two of the state’s five regions: Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, which covers nearly 85% of California residents.
The state lockdown order kicks in when hospital ICU capacity falls below 15%. State health figures showed that Southern California’s ICU availability dropped to 10.3% on Sunday, down from 12.5% on Saturday, while the San Joaquin Valley had an ICU availability of 6.6%.
California’s coronavirus figures for Sunday show another 30,075 new daily positive cases, bringing the total cases to 1,341,700 million, and another 85 deaths, pushing the total to 19,876 deaths. The state’s population is 39.5 million.
California COVID-19, By The Numbers:
— CA Public Health (@CAPublicHealth) December 6, 2020
🔹 Confirmed cases to date: 1,341,700
🔹 Note: Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed
More information at https://t.co/TLLUGx7imH. pic.twitter.com/7CwSoaw69o
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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