New York City is delaying plans to open restaurants and bars to indoor dining, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday.
De Blasio said at a press conference that while the city had planned to allow indoor service in the near future, the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the United States has led it to take caution.
A number of states — including ones with large populations such as Florida, California, Texas, and Georgia — have seen big spikes in cases recently.
"We know a lot of other parts of this country have very sadly made decisions based on something other than the data," de Blasio said. "We see a lot of problems and we particularly see problems revolving around people going back to bars and restaurants indoors."
"Indoors is the problem. More and more, the science is showing it," he added.
The mayor said that outdoor dining in the city, which was allowed back last month, has worked well thus far. New York state and New York City have continued to see a waning number of coronavirus cases in recent months after experiencing a huge spike in cases and deaths due to the virus earlier this year.
De Blasio did not say when the city plans to eventually reopen indoor dining.
He added, "even a week ago, honestly, I was hopeful we could, but the news we have gotten from around the country gets worse and worse all the time."
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