Coronavirus: Florida and South Carolina latest US states to close bars and restaurants amid global pandemic

Restaurant executives say the move will cause the industry to suffer as the pandemic continues its spread across the country

Officials in both Florida and South Carolina announced on Tuesday they were ordering bars and nightclubs closed as the coronavirus pandemic continued spreading across the country, with confirmed cases in the US surpassing over 5,000.

The two states became the latest to issue the extraordinary measures, as governors declared emergencies throughout the US and millions of stores and venues nationwide were forced to shutter their doors to the public.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis announced a 30-day suspension of all nightclubs and bars throughout the Sunshine State.

He said in a statement that officials “are going to encourage people to take advantage of takeout and delivery services” while new guidelines requires restaurants to “screen all employees and prohibit entry for employees that may have a positive response to all the trigger questions” pertaining to coronavirus.

He also said restaurants throughout the region would be required to limit their services and the number of patrons allowed to enter their venues to half capacity, saying: “We don’t want large crowds congregating right now. We want enough isolation so that the virus has more difficulty spreading throughout the community.”

Meanwhile in South Carolina, state officials ordered all in-house services for restaurants and bars to end on Wednesday, a move local restaurant executives said would cause the industry to suffer.

Governor Henry McMaster said in a statement on Tuesday: “Restaurants and bars must close their dine-in service starting tomorrow, starting tomorrow morning.”

He added: “It is allowed and recommended that takeout, curbside delivery of food....all that be increased, enhanced.”

Even with increased takeout options, Bobby Williams, chairman of the state’s Restaurant and Lodging Association, told the local newspaper The State: “Things are terrible for everybody, but the restaurants are really going to be suffering.”

States like New York have previously announced closures for bars and restaurants, while changing ordinances and local laws to allow venues to deliver drinks to local patrons in their homes.

Millions of Americans have remained in self-isolation in homes and apartments across the country, as society in many states came to a grinding halt and the US economy appeared to plunge throughout the week.

The White House has sought out an $850bn bailout package and floated the idea of sending checks to all Americans in the coming weeks to combat the economic downturn seen in the stock market in recent days, with historic slumps amid the latest developments surrounding the pandemic.

The new guidelines reportedly do not impact most liquor stores.