Permission for many outdoor dining areas revoked as PLCB resumes pre-pandemic rules lancasteronline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lancasteronline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
During nearly a year of restrictions on restaurants meant to limit the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tom Wolfâs shutdown of dining rooms during the normally busy winter holidays was especially tough for restaurant owners.
Some ignored the rules, keeping their dining rooms open during the three-week period that ended Jan. 5. In response, enforcement was stepped up as the Wolf administration started issuing âclosed by orderâ notices on the spot to restaurants found to be in violation, a first during the pandemic.
As part of the Wolf administrationâs toughened enforcement, 50 restaurants â including seven from Lancaster County â that got closure notices then stayed open found themselves on the receiving end of a pair of lawsuits from the state Department of Health that sought some intimidating remedies.
On Monday, Lancaster County restaurants will once again be allowed to offer some indoor dining, ending a three-week ban meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.
But instead of shutting down during the normally busy holiday season, some restaurant owners defied Gov. Tom Wolfâs three-week ban, opening their dining rooms up for customers, and themselves up to possible state sanction.
And long after dining rooms are legally allowed to be open, problems could persist for owners who violated the latest order, as they did for some who held out against mitigation efforts in the spring, and then fought extended battles in court.