Protests Against COVID-19 Lockdowns On the Rise
With the constant increase in new COVID-19 cases in America, states seeing the highest numbers like California are ready to reinstate lockdown measures. Although hundreds of health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned against peoples’ plans to travel for Thanksgiving, millions of Americans traveled across the country for the holiday to visit relatives. This decision resulted in a spike in new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., which comes just weeks after many states reported that their hospital beds were being filled up due to already high numbers. Meanwhile, business owners are struggling to keep their doors open and continue to suffer from the loss of consumer traffic since the lockdowns were first put into place back in March.
Many business owners, most notably small business owners across the country, fear the worst is yet to come for their businesses. The ban on indoor dining since the COVID-19 pandemic first arrived in the U.S. has hurt restaurants to the point of no return in many cases as they are faced with little to no profit to pay their expenses and workers. The COVID-19 restrictions have kept restaurants from operating at full capacity, forcing thousands into closure. Another mass lockdown in California, for example, could very well mean that small restaurants will permanently go out of business, which is a major threat to an already struggling economy.
The new lockdown in California went into effect on December 6th and has resulted in protests from frustrated business owners. The lockdown is expected to last for a period of three weeks. Alex Miladi, a local business owner in California, said in a statement to Fox News, “‘This coming lockdown will pretty much put us out [of business].’” Some have even turned to protests once again to voice their concerns to public officials. One coffee shop in Los Angeles began a peaceful protest that was short-lived due to state orders to end the demonstration, which was in response to a recent ruling by a judge against the city’s ban on outdoor dining.
The ongoing conflict between business owners and public health officials will likely last into the new year. Similar conflicts have taken place in Oregon and protests are expected to happen in other areas of the country should they be forced to lockdown. However, one takeaway from the conflicts is that small business owners will not let their businesses die without a fight.
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