By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – As COVID-19 cases spike and hospital bed space disappears in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage officials on Friday won a major ruling in favor of a ban on indoor dining after a standoff over it problem moved to court.
Anchorage officials filed a lawsuit this week over stopping indoor dining at Kriner’s Diner, a popular eatery that overturned a 31-year emergency order that restricted restaurants to open service and take-out on July 28 due to a emergence in coronavirus infections.
On Friday, after two days of hearing, State Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth met with city officials and issued a temporary security against the restaurant.
The city highlighted the risks of dining inside and showed that “the potential harm to the Anchorage public is so significant that the closure of a business would be justified,” Aarseth said in his order. “A property interest can be no less than the importance of a person in life.”
However, dinner remained open Friday afternoon, his tables filled with customers two hours after the judge placed his order. Owner Andy Kriner and at least one server were seen working without masks or gloves.
The former defense of the city directive’s dinner had won its hundreds of supporters. Customers filled the restaurant for days, walking outside the food and distributing bumper stickers “We Support Kriner’s Diner”.
“We have so much support that we are absolutely blown away and we feel your love!” said the dinner in a Facebook post on Thursday.
A handful of other restaurants followed Kriner’s example, and the town submitted a second dinner.
The spread of COVID-19 in Alaska, which appears to be under control, climbed in midsummer. Anchorage, home to about 40% of Alaskans, now makes up more than half of the state-confirmed 4,200-plus confirmed cases.
Nearly 86% of Anchorage’s hospital beds were occupied as of Friday, state data showed, and city officials say medical services are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed. Anchorage hospitals serve patients from all over the state.
Tourism to Alaska continues to hit hard. The first and only Alaska cruise ship of the season was forced to return to its port in Juneau, the state capital, earlier this week because a passenger with COVID-19 landed.
(Report by Yereth Rosen in Alaska; Edited by Steve Gorman, Sonya Hepinstall and William Mallard)
