D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser late Monday extended the city’s indoor dining restrictions until Jan. 22, days after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Bowser’s new order extends restrictions that were put into place before Christmas. They were introduced to help limit community spread.
They include closing museums and libraries, requiring reservations to swim in a city pool, halting DC Circulator National Mall routes and recommending nonessential businesses to telework.
At the time of the initial announcement in December, the mayor’s office said restaurants can continue outdoor dining and carryout and delivery services.
The extension comes as D.C. residents 65 and older are now eligible to make appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Monday, the city reported a seven-day average of about 41 cases per 100,000 people and a 6.7% positivity rate.
Also as of Monday, about 26,672 D.C. residents have been vaccinated.
With Biden’s inauguration scheduled for Jan. 20, Bowser has urged the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to deny any permits for public gathering in the days leading up to the event, citing the potential for the coronavirus to spread.
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
WTOP’s Luke Garrett contributed to this report.
