‘Stronger action’ may be needed if Sacramento bars open on St. Patrick’s Day, mayor says
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg on Sunday urged residents not eat out at restaurants and said he expects bars and pubs to close this week in an attempt to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus.
“I strongly prefer our restaurants move to curbside pickup and delivery,” Steinberg said during a City Hall press conference.
That message was a big shift from the mayor’s comments Thursday, when he announced the city was taking a series of steps to prevent the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable, but encouraged healthy people to go eat at the city’s restaurants and waived some parking meter fees.
The news came shortly after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new statewide restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, including home isolation of people over age 65, who are at high-risk. He also asked bars, wine bars, breweries and pubs to close, and for restaurants to reduce their occupancy by half
Sacramento police officers will not enforce the closure of bars because it’s not a mandate, Steinberg said. However, if bars refuse to close, especially with St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Tuesday, the city may decide to take a stronger stance.
“I would expect to see those bars closed on St. Patrick’s Day, period, end of story,” Steinberg said. “If that doesn’t happen, then that is going to be a signal - maybe there needs to be stronger measures and stronger action.”
The mayor said he’s been sharing the news with restaurant owners Sunday and that they understand the decision.
“I’d characterize their reaction as very sobering,” Steinberg said. “I didn’t hear anybody fire back like, ‘How dare you.’ None of that.”
Steinberg said he shifted his message after receiving new information from state and federal health officials, as well as watching the virus unfold in Italy.
“Earlier in the week, we all thought we could strike a different kind of a balance here,” Steinberg said. “We still wanna strike a balance where people do their best to just live their lives but the next couple weeks are crucial because if we can bend that curve, then in the long term there is a better chance there will be less death, less of a healthcare impact and frankly less of an economic impact because we made the sacrifice now.”
The mayor held up a graphic comparing Lodi, Italy, which shut down their public establishments Feb. 23, to Frignano, Italy, which waited until March 8, he said.
“The incidents of coronavirus spiked much higher for the city that waited for two weeks before they took the action that we are calling upon our city businesses and residences to take today,” Steinberg said.
The city also plans to increase its $1 million economic relief package package for small businesses, which it voted to approve Friday, along with an eviction ban and a series of other actions.
The city’s free metered parking after 4:30 p.m., which it instated originally to encourage people to visit restaurants and shops, will remain in place, Steinberg said.
Raley’s will soon announce a policy to limit the amount of of toilet paper, paper towels, and other items each customer can buy at a time, Steinberg said.
He discouraged people from buying “massive quantities” of those items because it makes it harder for others to buy them, including nonprofits that serve vulnerable people.
“Please look out for your fellow Sacramentans and don’t hoard,” Steinberg said.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 4:29 PM.
