Outdoor dining isn't really a feasible option for Michigan winters. | Unsplash
Outdoor dining isn't really a feasible option for Michigan winters. | Unsplash
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA) has announced that if the state keeps imposing indoor dining restrictions on bars and restaurants, the COVID-19 super-spreaders will just go underground and gather elsewhere, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
Association officials say people will meet to socialize in private homes instead of honoring the restrictions, which were created for their safety.
“We were hopeful that eight months into this pandemic that we could collectively recognize that there is an inherent and insatiable desire for humans to congregate, often over food,” said Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the MRLA, in a press release on its website. “Shutting down dine-in service removes the ability to accommodate that natural human desire in a highly regulated, sanitized, capacity-limited and appropriately spaced setting in a restaurant. Instead it will drive that behavior to innumerable residential social gatherings over the holidays, which have already proven to be super-spreader environments.”
The MRLA highlighted data showing that in the previous two weeks, only five COVID-19 probes involved restaurant patrons, “despite serving millions of Michiganders each day."
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