Los Angeles County shuts down all in-person dining

Los Angeles County is shutting down all indoor and outdoor dining amid a surge in coronavirus cases, health officials announced Sunday.

All dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars will be banned for at least three weeks starting Wednesday after the county hit a five-day average of more than 4,000 coronavirus cases.

“To reduce the possibility for crowding and the potential for exposures in settings where people are not wearing their face coverings, restaurants, breweries, wineries and bars will only be able to offer take-out, drive thru, and delivery services,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a news release. “Wineries and breweries may continue their retail operations adhering to current protocols. In person dining will not be allowed, at minimum, for the next 3 weeks.”

Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer warned that further restrictive measures would be taken if cases continued to increase.

“The persistent high number of cases requires additional safety measures that limit mixing in settings where people are not wearing masks,” she said in a statement. “We hope individuals continue to support restaurants, breweries and wineries by ordering for take-out or delivery. We also fervently hope every L.A. County resident supports all our businesses by following the Public Health directives that we know work to slow spread. Unfortunately, if our cases and hospitalizations continue to increase, we will need to issue further restrictions to protect our healthcare system and prevent more deaths.”