Indoor Dining To Resume In Montgomery County On Valentine's Day

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County will resume indoor dining on Valentine's Day, ending a ban enacted in December due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The County Council voted 7 to 2 on Tuesday to lift restrictions on restaurants — which have been relying on outdoor dining, carryout, and delivery to stay afloat.

The executive order, proposed by County Executive Marc Elrich, will go into effect Sunday at 7 a.m. It will let restaurants serve customers inside at 25 percent capacity, but limit indoor dining to 90 minutes per table. Alcohol sales will be suspended after 10 p.m.

Councilmembers Will Jawando and Craig Rice voted against the order, saying that it is still too risky to allow for indoor dining.

"I've spoken with many public health officials, including our own, who have said this is not a safe activity. And the CDC has said that," Jawando said.

"The idea we would be doing an executive order to encourage people to go out on Valentine's Day," he added, "just flies in the face of public health guidance."

Echoing a similar sentiment, Rice added that he is "still very concerned" about the health and safety of restaurant employees — most of whom are Black and Latino.

"I think every day about those families that are faced with tough choices about going to work or risking their lives and their family's lives. I don't think it's worth it at this point," he said.

In an effort to improve contact-tracing efforts, the order will also require restaurants to keep a daily log of customers' contact information for at least 30 days.

Councilmember Evan Glass, who voted in favor of the order, said the restrictions are severe enough to allow for indoor dining.

"I think a 25 percent capacity limit is a severe restriction," he said. "It's an acknowledgment that it's not business as usual."

Montgomery County, which has fought for a regional approach on the issue, is the last jurisdiction in Maryland to resume indoor dining amid a decline in coronavirus cases.

"(W)e want a regional approach and we are an outlier in the region," Glass said. "The simple fact that our constituents are going to other jurisdictions is a red flag, because we are not really stopping them from doing anything."

Daily coronavirus cases appear to be on the downward swing in Maryland's most populous jurisdiction. Since reaching their peak of 639 on Jan. 10, the number of new infections has decreased by more than 400, according to the county's coronavirus dashboard.

So far in February, there have been five days in which the county has reported fewer than 200 cases. That only happened once in January.

"The data is showing us that we can do this. We can do this smartly," Glass said.

"If the data changes," he added, "we will reevaluate this — just as we have been reevaluating every single policy as it relates to COVID."

Councilmember Hans Riemer sided with a majority of his colleagues on Tuesday, saying the county must strike a balance between limiting coronavirus transmissions and helping businesses stay afloat.

But despite supporting the order, Riemer said he will not be dining indoors on Valentine's Day.

"If I ask my wife to meet me at a restaurant, she would probably say this is our last Valentine's Day together," Riemer said. "I would not encourage it. I don't think it's safe. However, completely eliminating indoor dining exceeds what is required based on our level of transmission."