New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced Friday that restaurants in the state can now open at 100 percent dining capacity, with a reduction in the spread of COVID-19.
Restaurants were already at 100 percent capacity in six of the state’s Northern and Western counties, where the virus had limited prevalence. However, they remained at 50 percent capacity in four other counties located in the most densely populated southern part of the state.
“We are entering the autumn months, our figures are very good,” Sununu said at a press conference. “Seating outside is probably not as possible or will be as possible as it was in the summer. So effective immediately we will have 100 percent capacity in restaurants that opt for it.”
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Sununu added that preventive measures would continue to be enforced, including mandatory masks for staff and unrestricted customers and a ban on standing or collecting at bars. Restaurants are also required to ensure parties sit 6 feet apart. It is not clear how many of New Hampshire’s restaurants have enough space to both operate at full capacity and maintain strictly 6 feet of physical distance between patrons.
“The six-foot distance is very important,” Sununu said. “Wearing masks in the public areas of those establishments is very important. Make sure the staff wears the masks … all those provisions are in place and will stay in place for a while, no doubt.”
“Social distance, which is as important in terms of the transmissibility of the virus as in indoor facilities,” he added. “When you are in a bar or a restaurant, there is no stand at the bar, there is no congregation. You have to maintain these distances.”
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Research suggests that the risk of transmitting the virus indoors can be substantial, with a Japanese study finding the indoor risk to be nearly 19 times greater than outdoors. A August 6 report from the Center for American Progress suggested that restricting indoor dining was associated with states in the Northeast Polder seeing declining cases. Some states in other regions are closing bars and restaurants for a second time when a spike occurred in cases after they were reopened.
New Hampshire has had one of the lowest COVID-19 case totals among U.S. states, reporting 7,071 since the pandemic began, along with 428 related deaths. The state reported 24 new cases and no deaths on Friday. State epidemiologist Dr Benjamin Chan said “the COVID numbers for New Hampshire remain good looking,” adding that a “positive trend” was ongoing, with an average of 20 new cases per day and a testing positivity rate below 1 percent.
Newsweek reached out to Sununu’s office for comment.
