COLUMBUS – After seeing a decline in new daily cases of COVID-19 in Columbus, the city council voted Monday night to repeal a 10:00 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants.
A statewide ban on alcohol sales after 10:00 p.m. remains in place but restaurants and bars in the city would be allowed to remain open and serve food. Occupancy restrictions and requirements for mask wearing and social distancing remain in effect.
“We have seen a decrease in COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks that we attribute to the restaurant and bar curfew in Columbus as well as the public’s adherence to other safety measures including mask wearing and social distancing,” said Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Columbus Health Commissioner.
Daily counts of COVID-19 cases in Columbus have dropped by 37% since the curfew went into effect and daily counts of cases among adults 21 and older have dropped 50%, Roberts said.
The state Department of Health Monday reported 1,057 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 after seeing 2,098 new cases over the weekend, bringing the total number of cases since March to 159,964 with 4,931 deaths. The number of active cases increased by 456 to 17,400.