Feds Caution Against Reopenings, Leave Restaurants With Difficult Choice

At a recent press briefing, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), advised against the wave of reopenings occurring across the country.

“When I first started at CDC about two months ago, I made a promise to you: I would tell you the truth, even if it was not the news we wanted to hear,” Walensky said. “Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth and I have to hope and trust you all listen.”

In this vein, in response to a question about whether the recent rise in COVID-19 cases could be attributed to the reopening of restaurants and workplaces, Walensky said, “I think we are seeing that many of these states are opening up at levels that we wouldn’t necessarily recommend. I am working with the governors. I will be speaking with them tomorrow to try and buckle down on trying to refrain from opening up too fast.”

As Restaurant Business points out, many restaurants take their cue from the federal government rather than local legislatures when determining how to safely operate. As federal officials continue to call for stricter anti-COVID measures, restaurants may begin to slow their reopening, and some may even reverse course, reinstating more stringent measures, especially given the across-the-board concern expressed by top-ranking officials. According to Restaurant Business, some restaurant operators have decided to follow CDC guidelines rather than state or local mandates.

“As long as we’re following the CDC guidelines, it doesn’t matter what the local municipalities are doing,” Gene Lee, CEO of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse parent Darden Restaurants, told investors last week.  “And we believe right now, it’s in our best interest, our team member’s best interest … for our team members and our guests to continue to follow the CDC guidelines.”

In addition to Walensky, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also expressed concern for these reopenings. In response to the same question about restaurants and workplaces opening up, he said, “I think the reason we’re seeing this … increase [in cases of COVID-19] that we hope doesn’t turn into a surge is because we are really doing things prematurely right now with regard to opening up.”

White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told CNN, “I think the governors know better. I think the governors know that they’re not helping the cause, that they’re actually weighing down the cause.”

This federal stance against reopening is not just coming from health experts. In a recent briefing, President Joe Biden was asked, “Mr. President, do you believe that some states should pause their reopening efforts?” He responded, simply, “Yes.”

In coming weeks, restaurants in areas with more lax local legislation will have a clear choice to make between following federal advice or sticking with the potentially more profitable but riskier guidelines set by their local legislatures. As Forbes reported, state governors are pushing back against the CDC guidance, arguing that they are ready to open public spaces and lift mask mandates.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for instance, argued that, with the progress of the vaccine rollout, it was not necessary to impose stricter anti-viral measures. She said, “We are going gangbusters on the vaccines and that’s really where people need to have their personal responsibility, following the protocols and getting themselves vaccinated. It’s the best thing for them individually and for our economy.”

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