Judge wants evidence for LA’s outdoor dining ban
California Restaurant Association CEO Jot Condie tells ‘Fox & Friends’ every day that passes restaurant owners and workers can’t pay their bills.
California public health officials are closing restaurants without substantial scientific evidence, California Restaurant Association CEO Jot Condie said on Tuesday.
“For nine months now, we’ve listened to our public health officials tell us that these shutdown orders are based on or they are guided by evidence and science, and we have an L.A. health department who has essentially targeted the restaurant industry as if we are responsible for the latest outbreak in the pandemic when the evidence proves otherwise,” Condie told "Fox & Friends."
Condie will appear in court for a third time on Tuesday and expressed optimism that a judge will rule against Los Angeles County on its patio dining ban. Last week, a California judge ordered health officials in Los Angeles to show scientific evidence to justify the recently enacted three-week ban on dine-in service.
“[The judge] basically said L.A. County has a lot of holes in their justification in order for them to come back and prove that it is justified ... So we're hopeful," Condie said.
FIGHT TO HALT LA DINE-IN BAN ISN'T OVER, RESTAURATEURS VOW
The decision came a week after a judge denied the California Restaurant Association's request to block the measure until evidence was provided that showed outdoor dining at restaurants posed a risk to the public.
"We were successful in Los Angeles Superior Court today, where the judge agreed that LA County must show cause for its order to ban outdoor dining," the California Restaurant Association tweeted on Wednesday.
The CRA has fought against the measure since it was enacted on Nov. 25, limiting bars and restaurants to take-out, drive-through and delivery services only.
The group had accused L.A. County of relying on a "questionable national study" rather than local data to determine that establishments -- which are already reeling from the pandemic -- should be shut down again, according to a video posted on YouTube.
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Condie said the restaurants “just want to open back up.” While indoor dining is restricted due to health concerns, “outdoor dining is their only lifeline” that they have to get through the pandemic.
“That has sort of been pulled out from under them by a health department that is essentially acting on a gut reaction,” Condie said. “Last time I looked, gut reactions aren't part of a scientific method."
Fox News' Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
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