The curfew that closed Ohio’s restaurants and bars in late evening hours since November has been lifted. But is there evidence that curfew actually prevented the spread of coronavirus? The governor thinks so.
Gov. Mike DeWine says when you are inside a bar or restaurant, you are indoors without a mask while eating and drinking. And that, he says, makes it easier to spread coronavirus.
“Restaurants, bars, by their very nature, have spread. We have clear evidence of that. What a curfew simply does, it reduces the hours that people are actually there," DeWine said.
Ohio restaurant and bar owners have been operating at limited capacity, have installed plexiglass, and have taken other safety measures. Sixty-two percent of restaurant owners in a recent survey by the Ohio Restaurant Association say they don’t anticipate breaking even in 2021.
Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau
