BALTIMORE (AP) - A trade group for Maryland restaurants is suing to challenge local bans on indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Restaurant Association of Maryland on Friday filed requests for court orders to have indoor dining restored “as soon as possible” in Baltimore city and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the group’s president and CEO, Marshall Weston, said at a news conference. The association also wants to overturn Baltimore’s ban on outdoor dining.
Weston said restaurant owners face an “impossible task” of trying to stay open with only carryout service, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The association sued two days after an Anne Arundel County judge issued a temporary restraining order lifting that jurisdiction’s ban on indoor dining.
Association attorneys claim there is insufficient evidence that restaurants carry a greater risk for COVID-19 transmission than other types of businesses.
“Relying on the potential for spread is not evidence,” Weston said, according to the Washington Post. “Rather than having gatherings and parties in our homes, restaurants provide a safe and regulated space to meet and gather with friends safely.”
But public health experts say there are differences that make indoor dining riskier, such as customers removing masks to eat.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has limited restaurants statewide to 50% of their capacity for indoor dining, but local governments can impose stricter measures.
Baltimore’s ban on indoor and outdoor dining went into effect last week.
“What we did was guided by public health science and advice. Period,” Mayor Brandon Scott said.
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