Virginia Beach mayor asking governor to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants ahead of Labor Day

Virginia Beach — Virginia Beach’s mayor wants the state to ease up on the COVID-19 restrictions so restaurants can more easily sell food and alcohol amid the ongoing pandemic.

And he wants it to happen by Labor Day weekend.

“We want our businesses to know our city is looking out for them,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said.

Since late July, alcohol sales in Hampton Roads have been allowed only until 10 p.m. and restaurants may not exceed 50% occupancy.

In a Friday letter, Dyer asked Gov. Ralph Northam to allow alcohol sales until 11 p.m. Additionally, he wants the state to eliminate the 50% occupancy restriction for indoor dining as long as the restaurant enforces 6-foot social distancing requirements.

Northam’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

In May, Virginia Beach was the first to receive permission from the state to reopen its beaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Northam urged other cities to model Virginia Beach’s social distancing and monitoring plan to ensure beachgoers were socially distancing during the pandemic.

Virginia Beach still experienced community-wide spread of the virus, though. And on July 28, Northam rolled out stricter rules for the regions’s restaurants. Contact tracers said Virginia Beach residents appeared to have contracted COVID-19 while participated in social gatherings for July 4, Father’s Day, birthdays and backyard barbecues without social distancing or wearing face coverings.

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Since then, Dyer said the city has worked hard to reduce its COVID-19 cases. He said he is confident that city restaurants have taken actions to make sure their employees and customers are as safe as possible during a pandemic.

In an interview, Dyer said he sent the letter to Northam after learning the city’s seven-day percentage of positive COVID-19 tests had declined. On Monday, Virginia Beach’s average stood at 5.7%, while Norfolk was at 8.5%, Portsmouth was at 10.6% and Chesapeake was at 12.2%.

Throughout the pandemic, 6,028 Virginia Beach residents have had COVID-19 and 68 people have died from the illness, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

While Virginia Beach has not heard back from Northam yet, Dyer is hopeful the governor will announce his decision during a 2 p.m. news conference on Tuesday.

Labor Day is typically a busy weekend for Oceanfront businesses, as many visitors and residents come to enjoy one last long weekend before school begins.

“We want to send a signal that we are ending the summer season on a high note,” Dyer said. “I think it would help our local economy and uplift the restaurants and hotel owners. We want them to feel like we are going to come back next year and we are going to come back strong.”

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.