DC resumes indoor dining at 25 percent capacity

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is lifting the coronavirus moratorium on indoor dining on Friday, allowing restaurants in the District to resume service indoors at 25 percent capacity.

Bowser’s chief of staff John Falcicchio said in a tweet that indoor dining will begin after 5 a.m., ending the monthlong shutdown that was put in place in December to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Outdoor dining, takeout and delivery were still permitted under the order. 

We are told that breakdown will start in earnest at 6 pm and will likely take about 36 hours.

That aligns with the end of the Inauguration Pause on indoor dining which is set to expire on Friday, January 22, at 5 am. Restaurants will then be able to return to 25% indoor.

— John J. Falcicchio (@falcicchio) January 20, 2021

With the new guidelines, the city on Monday will be able to resume its Restaurant Week, which had been temporarily postponed due to the ban, WTOP reported.

D.C. will also reopen museums, allowing for no more than 250 people to be present on one floor at a time. Guided tours will remain suspended.

The city, like many others across the nation, is continuing to battle a surge in coronavirus cases. As of Jan. 21, the nation’s capital has reported 34,905 total positive cases and 867 lives lost to the virus, according to the mayor’s COVID-19 surveillance data.