By Ryan Sullivan
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Mayor Brandon M. Scott today defended his decision to shut down indoor and outdoor dining at city restaurants to stem the cases of COVID-19 in Baltimore, as his first major executive order since taking office this week came under harsh criticism from business owners as well as the governor.
“I want every single business owner, consumer and Baltimorean to know that these restrictions are for the health and safety of our community—period,” Scott said during a press conference this morning. “We are in a life or death situation.”
Scott, a Democrat, continued: “These decisions that we make today, no matter how tough they are, will determine whether community members will survive or not. That’s what this is about: Keeping people alive.”
Scott’s comments came after Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, questioned the new mayor’s decision when he met with reporters yesterday.
“I don’t know where that decision came from because, in all of our hundreds of discussions with all the top public health doctors and epidemiologists and experts, they told us from the very beginning that outdoor dining is safe,” Hogan said Thursday. “You’ll have to ask them why they made those decisions.”
Hogan added that Scott’s decision did not compute with any of the advice he had received anywhere else.
“Let me be clear,” Scott said. “Any activity that requires you to remove your mask in public right now is dangerous. And we know that you can’t eat or drink without removing your mask. I haven’t seen anyone that can do it yet.”
The controversy surrounding the new coronavirus restrictions is the first major test of the Scott administration, which is less than five days old.
Under the new restrictions announced by Scott yesterday, restaurants will not be able to serve customers for indoor or outdoor dining as of 5 p.m. today, although curbside pickup and carry out will be allowed.
In addition, the mayor’s order restricts all outdoor gatherings at public and private facilities to no more than 25 persons. Sports gatherings and facilities controlled by the city’s recreations and parks department will be prohibited while indoor recreational establishments such as cigar and hookah bars and adult entertainment venues will be closed.
Scott has also ordered that outdoor recreation establishments be capped at 25% of their maximum capacity while theaters and outdoor entertainment venues will be closed. Staff at personal service establishments – which may not fill to more than 25% of maximum capacity – must wear face coverings at all times and keep records of anyone who enters their shops.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Baltimore had 1,831 new cases from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8, a 9.31% increase from the previous week. The city also had 26 deaths in that timeframe, a 13.04% increase. Additionally, the positivity rate for those seven days increased to 6.66, a 0.18% increase.
City data shows 3,202 new confirmed cases over the past 24 hours in Maryland, a 1.4% increase. The total confirmed cases in Maryland has reached 225,855. There were also 49 new confirmed deaths over the past 24 hours.
Scott was joined at the press conference by Baltimore City Health Commissioner Letitia Dzirasa, Baltimore Development Corporation’s Colin Tarbert, and three local restaurant owners.
Dzirasa said asymptomatic individuals spread 50% of COVID-19 cases. These people are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at all, she said.
Gregory Brown, one of the restaurant owners who attended the press conference to support Scott, said the city needed to come together to fight a lethal virus.
“We are asking people to directly support our restaurants,” said Brown, the owner of The Land of Kush located on North Eutaw Street. “We are one Baltimore; we are a team.”
But that did not appease some restauranteurs who argued that Scott’s decision would make it difficult for them to survive.
“Restaurants are frustrated and angry that their livelihoods and the livelihoods of their employees have been taken away from them,” Marshall Weston, the president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, said in a statement. “Mayor Scott has taken significant and drastic actions in the interest of public health, and now he needs to take the same significant and drastic actions to ensure that 1,400 city restaurants also survive this pandemic.”
Scott’s announcement Wednesday that indoor and outdoor dining at city restaurants would be suspended at 5 p.m. this evening received praise and scorn on social media. Twitter user @taureanlady5 tweeted, “Who is eating outside in 55 degree weather?? Most people don’t! It’s the perfect time to shut down outdoor dining to get these numbers under control.”
Twitter user @juicy_chay had a different opinion. They tweeted, “Now that I’ve lost my job as a restaurant/bar employee please explain to me how I’m going to buy my child Christmas gifts and ho[w] I’ll possibly get help when I’ve been waiting 5 months on unemployment money!?!?!?”
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, a restaurant located on Holabird Avenue, tweeted that different eateries were being held to different standards.
“Does it seem fair that we must close while my favorite pizza spot 200 yards away can remain open?” Jimmy’s Famous Seafood tweeted. “Of course not. But that’s life… And so, we fight forward.”
Despite the ability to dine inside or outside of restaurants, Jimmy’s Famous Seafood and other restaurants are creatively finding ways to generate income. Carryout, online shopping, and food trucks are three options patrons can use to help support restaurants in the city.
Michael Scheffres, a city resident from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, said that he and his wife are afraid to sit inside or outside at restaurants, even with increased safety procedures. Scheffres added that he will still do carry out at his favorite restaurant, Chiapparelli’s.
“We have to have some outlet during these difficult times,” Scheffres said.
Despite the criticism, Scott held fast today. He acknowledged that his decision will not be supported by everyone, but he said he had to take action to protect people’s lives.
“This was not a popular decision,” Scott said. “But it’s the right one.”
According to a survey taken in April by Food Insight, 47% of participants said they were making more home-cooked meals, and 28% said they were using takeout and delivery options less frequently than they had been before the pandemic started. While 16% of the participants said they were using takeout and delivery options more now due to the pandemic.
Scott and Hogan’s offices did not immediately reply to an interview request.