The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has had a devastating affect on local business nationwide, and workers are using various means to ride out the pandemic.
It’s been more than three weeks since outdoor dining closed in most of California’s Bay Area, a major blow to restaurants and bars in what would be one of the busiest times of the year. That has service workers seeking jobs out of state as COVID-19 restrictions continue to impact food industry.
As restaurant and bar owners struggle to pay rent and other overheads with minimal income, service workers have had it the hardest, argues Tim Nugent, owner of Shakewell in Oakland. One of his employees decided to move back home to Thailand, rather than try to stick it out in the Bay Area.
Los Angeles County surpassed 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus Wednesday as California also hit a record high number of fatalities. The governor also announced the first detected case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus in a San Diego man. L.A. County Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer called the 10,056 deaths there a “terrible milestone.” She noted that more than 7,400 people remain hospitalized with coronavirus in the county, with 20% of them in intensive care units.
Meanwhile, elected leaders of some Oregon towns gathered in Estacada Tuesday for a rally, calling on businesses to reopen on New Year’s Day. Those behind the rally said they feel small businesses are suffering, while large corporations are surviving the pandemic.
Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam recently went to dozens of local businesses and encouraged them, as a group, to go one tier above Clackamas County’s current COVID-19 risk level on New Year’s Day.
“We’re encouraging all businesses in these local Main Street communities to open your doors on January First. We don’t believe that you should be able to pack in to support corporate America and malls but not support a locally owned, Main Street small business,” he said.
The city of New Orleans — arguably “party central” for 300 years — announced on Wednesday that bars, breweries and adult live entertainment venues must close their indoor facilities, as the COVID-19 positive case rate holds above 5% for the second consecutive week.
Traditional parades celebrating the Crescent City’s premier event of the year, Mardi Gras, have already been called off.
This week’s national ensemble forecast predicts that 12,400 to 24,300 new U.S. deaths will likely be reported in the week ending January 23, 2021.
The national ensemble predicts that a total of 383,000 to 424,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported by this date.
Source-ABC
