New York City Has Completely Failed To Recover From The Pandemic

The unemployment issue

DC mayor's new program would help restaurants 'winterize' and 'maintain' outdoor dining areas by turning them into indoor dining areas in heated tents



In cities across the U.S., restaurant owners are working to find any way they can to stay in business.

Some locations have been able to adapt their indoor seating for social distancing and limited capacity per state regulations.

Other restaurants have worked to create outdoor eating venues — and in some cities, outdoor eating is the only option for restaurants trying to say afloat.

So, what are these places that rely on outdoor seating to do when the weather turns cold?

Well, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled her plan over the weekend: grants to help winterize outdoor seating — including by setting up heated tents that would effectively turn outdoor eating spaces into indoor eating spaces.

In a Sunday night tweet, Bowser announced the Streatery Winter Ready Grant Program, "an investment of $4 million to help small businesses winterize outdoor dining areas and maintain outdoor dining operations in the District."

#RAMMYS20: We just announced an investment of $4 million to help small businesses winterize outdoor dining areas an… https://t.co/mziOScIuf6
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@Mayor Muriel Bowser)1600643069.0

The program is designed to "allow businesses to continue outdoor dining as weather gets chillier," WDVM-TV said.

In a city like D.C., where the autumn and winter seasons can get quite cold, putting tents over the outdoor spaces would likely be the most effective method of winterizing, which is why, according the program's FAQ page, the one-time $6,000 grants can be used for tents, heaters, propane, lighting, furniture, advertising, marketing, and outdoor operational costs.

This will essentially turn the outdoor dining that the city claims to be preserving into indoor dining.

Social media was quick to go after the mayor's announcement for this apparent flaw in the city's logic:

  • "So, $4 million to create.......indoor seating."
  • "Wouldn't that be indoor dining? You're welcome, I just saved you $4 million. This mayor stuff is easy."
  • "Building outdoor heated tents is creating INDOOR SEATING. Tonight, the Mayor of DC takes the lead as the dumbest f***ing Mayor in America."
  • "But if everyone is in an enclosed space (in the tents) that are circulating heat (by circulating warm air, and microbes in the air) how is this different than dining indoors?"
  • "They are creating an indoor area outdoors, so it is no different than being indoors. Plus it will have worse air circulation than indoors would so it would increase Covid risk. Plus the additional cost hurts the business. But other than that, it's great!"
  • "How is building heated tents around tables outdoor dinning [sic]? Won't this be the same risk as indoor dinning [sic]?"

(H/T: HotAir)

Fauci casts another shadow on recovery, says US won’t return to normal until 'end of 2021'



Dr. Anthony Fauci recently put a damper on the recovery efforts taking place in many states across the country by suggesting that the United States will not return to normal until well into next year.

What did he say?

In a conversation with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon, the nation's leading infectious disease expert said "normality" will not be achieved until a vaccine for COVID-19 is first developed and then widely distributed. Fauci said he's confident a vaccine will be available by the end of this year or early 2021.

"By the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccine and get a majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, that's likely not going to happen until the end of 2021," he said. "If you're talking about getting back to a degree of normality prior to COVID, it's going to be well into 2021, towards the end of 2021."

The comments from Fauci come as many state and local municipalities across the country are beginning to ease lockdown measures and reopen venues such as movie theaters, gyms, salons, and restaurants for indoor dining, a reality that worries Fauci.

"Being indoors absolutely increases the risk [of transmission]," he said. "I am concerned when I see things starting indoors, and that becomes more compelling when you move into fall and winter season."

In the same interview, Fauci also poo-pooed a recent claim made by President Trump during a White House press briefing, in which the president said, "I really do believe we're rounding the corner" on the virus.

When asked by Mitchell to respond to Trump's remarks, Fauci, said, "I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with that because if you look at the thing that you just mentioned, the statistics, Andrea, they're disturbing. We're plateauing at around 40,000 cases a day and the deaths are around 1,000."

In a news report, CNBC noted that "daily new cases in the U.S. have fallen substantially since new national cases peaked in late July, when the country reported nearly 70,000 new cases in a day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over the past seven days, the country has reported an average of about 35,200 new cases per day, down more than 12% compared with a week ago."

What else?

The exchange highlights the stark difference with which the two leaders relay information to the American people regarding the virus.

For example, this week Trump became embroiled in controversy after audio was released from discussions he had with journalist Bob Woodward in which the president acknowledged he downplayed the pandemic so as to not "create a panic."

In defending his words, Trump said he "had to show calm" in the face of hysteria surrounding the virus in the early days of the outbreak.

Fauci, to his credit, contradicted the claim made by some that Trump deceived the American people. The move was somewhat surprising since Fauci normally opts for a more worst-case-scenario outlook on the pandemic.