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UPDATED: Judge upholds Montgomery County indoor dining shutdown, for now Another court hearing likely to explore issue further By Dan Schere | December 26, 2020 This story was updated at 11:55 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, to add additional comments from Judge James Bonifant, County Executive Marc Elrich, Marshall Weston and attorneys from each side in the case. It was updated again at 3:25 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2020, to add comments from restaurateurs and medical experts who testified in the hearing. A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge on Wednesday night upheld the county’s ban on indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic rejecting a request by dozens of county restaurateurs to grant a temporary restraining order and injunction. ....
Witnesses testified that 800 restaurants, 45% of Montgomery County’s restaurants, could close. “I’ve had to let go 40% of the staff, and the 60% that are still working are only working about 25% of the hours that they normally would, which means it’s having a huge impact on their lives,” said Robbie Gilroy from the Stained Glass Pub, who testified at a hearing Wednesday. The attorney for the restaurants says the indoor dining ban causes “irreparable harm … a certain death knell to the restaurant industry.” Montgomery County lawyers argued Elrich issued the executive order and the county council approved it and a temporary restraining order “would undermine steps to protect residents of Montgomery County. It would put countless people at risk of infection and death.” ....