KC’s relaxed COVID rules for bars, restaurants send wrong message at a dangerous time
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced new regulations Wednesday for area businesses dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s really not the time to relax,” Lucas said, after announcing plans to relax some COVID-19 rules.
Starting now, restaurants, bars, event spaces and similar businesses can remain open until midnight, two hours later than previously permitted. The announcement aligns Kansas City with Jackson County, which announced similar changes earlier in the day.
Other jurisdictions have also taken steps to keep public gathering places open longer.
Lucas said “regional consistency” was one reason for the new rules. But he also said COVID-19 cases in Kansas City have stabilized, making it easier for the city to take steps bar owners have been demanding for months.
“I think we made the entire region safer,” Lucas said. “We have worked hard.”
No one doubts the hard work and sacrifice of virtually everyone in the area during this year of coronavirus. Lives have been disrupted, and schools, hospitals, stadiums, businesses, workplaces and homes have all been changed, some beyond recognition.
Everyone wants to return to normal. But it isn’t possible, and the decision to ease up now sends the wrong message at the wrong time.
The nation is distracted by events in Washington. On Friday, though, more than 3,600 people died of COVID-19 across the United States. To date, roughly 390,000 have died in this country from the disease.
By almost every measure, the COVID-19 pandemic is far worse today than it was last March and April, when businesses, schools and events were shut down in our region.
On April 12 last year, the metro area reported 30 COVID-19 cases. On Saturday, 733 new cases were diagnosed.
We know more about treatment and diagnosis than a year ago, which is important progress. And at least two vaccines have been approved and are being administered.
But the crisis is not only not over, it’s horrifically worse. Vaccine distribution has been spotty, and access has confused and angered many would-be recipients (Kansas City is now using a website where residents can monitor availability and access. Jackson County’s site is similar.)
It still isn’t clear how long it will take for general vaccinations to stop the spread of the disease. As health officials pointed out Wednesday, it could be months before life begins to return to anything resembling normal.
That’s why it’s important that Lucas and the city are continuing other commonsense restrictions, including masks, restricted seating at restaurants and other events, and social-distancing rules. Those necessary precautions are likely to be in place for some time.
Businesses affected by the virus have a right to ask for relief, and they should get it — Lucas said the city will discuss delaying licensing fees for businesses with less than $2 million in revenue. That waiver should be made permanent this year.
But now cannot be the time to discard caution and fully return to the life we knew in January 2020. The mayor’s announcement should not be heard that way, or more people will get sick and die needlessly.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.