Hello everyone,
The Delaware restaurant industry is breathing a sigh of relief over the end of the mask mandate on Friday
Some people fled to restaurants in adjacent states that did not have the mandate, even with the added miles and sales taxes.
It was one more blow to an industry that is still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and wave of surges that have gone on for nearly two years. Even before the latest mask mandate, cautious diners had been staying away as the Omicron variant sent case numbers soaring.
Sadly, the mandate’s impact was felt most by frontline staff in the form of lower tips and unhappy patrons, a few of whom shared their thoughts on their matter including their definition of personal freedom – not always in a civil way.
It is true that restaurant mandates likely had a negliable impact since diners have to take their masks off while eating or drinking.
Still, despite the discomfort, employees should wear masks when serving customers, given the presence of faster-spreader variants that are sticking around despite the sharp downturn in cases.
While the overall effectiveness of masks will be argued far into the future, some customers may stay away.
This is especially true in bluer and more crowded areas of the state in northern New Castle County.
Also, depending on the advice of their physician, the 2.7% of immunocompromised people should have an opportunity dine out every once in a while.
A more reasonable requirement would have come with showing vaccine cards, but that controversial idea never made its way to Delaware and would have triggered demonstrations and confrontations.
There is also the realization that we will have to live with this virus and a sizable portion of the state’s population not being fully vaccinated (about 35% at least count).
It is worth noting that the percentage of fully vaccinated in neighboring states is a couple of percentage points higher than in Delaware.
When it came to hospitalizations, Delaware, at one point had the fifth highest rate among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to a report from WalletHub.
The lower hospital numbers may have given neighboring governors room to not to impose statewide requirements. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
