United States: partial reopening of restaurant interiors in New York
Audio 01:19
Katz's Delicatessen in New York.
The city has allowed restaurants to offer indoor dining at a 25% capacity.
AP - Mary Altaffer
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
As new coronavirus cases decline in the United States, New York City is slowly coming back to life.
After two months of closure, restaurants are again authorized to serve meals in the dining room.
They were currently limited to field service.
A crucial breath for an industry ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
At least a quarter of the city's restaurants have already gone out of business.
Publicity
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With our correspondent in New York,
Loubna Anaki
At this Indian restaurant in Manhattan, reservations for indoor dining have multiplied since Friday, February 12.
Limited since December 11 to meals on the terrace, owners like Jimmy Rizvi welcome the easing of restrictions.
"
We are very happy, even if there are still many difficulties
," he explains.
We must ensure the safety of our customers and our employees.
"
For now, capacity is limited to 25% and restaurants must close at 11 p.m.
But as New York faces a freezing winter, it was more than necessary according to Jimmy Rizvi, who says, “
People didn't want to eat out.
We have installations with heating, but that is not enough.
They still asked us
“can't we be inside?
”
”.
This easing of restrictions is all the more important since it comes during one of the most important weekends with the feast of Valentine's Day.
Most New Yorkers say they are happy to be able to eat or drink warm, even if they are careful.
“
It's super cold right now
,” said one of them.
It's good to be inside
”.
"
Given the situation with the virus and the fact that it is still there, I still prefer to eat on the terrace,
" said another.
New York restaurants and bars,
hard hit
since the start of the pandemic, hope these new measures will allow them to survive the winter and better withstand the crisis.
► To read also: Covid-19: the wearing of the double mask encouraged by the American health authorities
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