New Mexico’s governor to allow some indoor dining as court hears challenge to her Covid-19 orders

SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss a loosening of restrictions involving dining and church attendance as the state's Covid-19 case numbers have recently shown decline.

Although the official announcement was a day away, the governor's office on Wednesday outlined the following changes to the state's emergency public health order that were expected to take effect come Saturday....

• Food and drink establishments (including restaurants, breweries, wineries, distillers, cafes, coffee shops or other similar establishments) may provide indoor dining service at 25% maximum occupancy, in accordance with Covid-safe practices. 
• Food and drink establishments may continue to provide outdoor dining options, carryout and delivery services, in accordance with Covid-safe practices. Tables – inside or outside – must be spaced at least six feet apart, and no more than six patrons are permitted at a single table.
• Houses of worship may operate at 40% maximum occupancy of any enclosed building – an increase from 25 percent – in accordance with Covid-safe practices. Houses of worship may, as before, conduct services outdoors or provide services through audiovisual means.

“Tomorrow we'll talk more about how far we've come and what we've still got to do, but I'm happy to announce these changes today and hope that New Mexicans feel that our hard work has begun to pay off,” the governor said a statement on Wednesday.

The planned changes came as the state Supreme Court heard a challenge Wednesday afternoon to the state's indoor dining ban. It was the latest legal showdown between restive business owners and Lujan Grisham.

The New Mexico Supreme Court recently upheld the state’s authority to levy hefty, $5,000 daily fines against businesses that flout health orders linked to the coronavirus.

New Mexico is among a handful of states including California and New Jersey that currently prohibit indoor dining as a temporary safeguard against the spread of Covid-19, but again that will now change come this weekend given the Lujan Grisham's new orders.

Her administration had suspended in mid-July its reopening of the economy — and put a halt to indoor restaurant dining — amid a wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths that has relented in recent weeks.

Attorneys for the restaurant industry assert that state health official are invoking science as the basis of the ban without sharing specific scientific findings or deliberations.

“The state’s ‘science’ alleged to support the devastating decision to prohibit indoor dining is undisclosed, un-reviewed, and without checks,” attorneys for restaurants said in a briefing filed ahead of arguments on Wednesday afternoon.

In support of the restriction, health officials are citing medical journals, outbreaks traced to restaurants by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local infections that trigger “rapid response” testing and contact tracing in New Mexico. Restaurants and health care facilities have routinely had more outbreak responses than other sectors of the New Mexico economy.

At news conferences, Lujan Grisham and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase have described the risks associated removing face masks to dine in confined spaces.

The court case began as a standoff between state environmental regulators and Jalisco Cafe in Silver City over the businesses’ alleged refusal to cease indoor dining service despite sanctions and a permit suspension.

Challengers of the ban now include K-bob Steakhouse restaurants in Raton and Las Vegas, Trinity Hotel in Carlsbad, the Red River Brewing Co. in Red River — as well as the New Mexico Restaurant Association.

New Mexico is faring better against virus infections than neighboring states such as Arizona and Texas.