ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) Two eastern Missouri restaurants have filed a lawsuit challenging an emergency order that closes bars and restaurants at 11 p.m. to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Tony’s on Main in St. Charles and Shamrock’s Pub and Grill in St. Peters argued in court Wednesday that officials failed to act for months to stop the virus before issuing the “bizarre and non-sensical” emergency order on Nov. 24. The suit names St. Charles, St. Charles County and others.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Ted House rejected the restaurants’ request for a temporary restraining order, saying they did not show enough evidence of “irreparable harm.” But he said they have a compelling case to recoup damages.
Dining restrictions started months ago across the region, with St. Louis city bars and restaurants subjected to a similar curfew. St. Louis County banned indoor service in mid-November but is considering whether to allow it to resume, with restrictions, in January.
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said the bar curfew is intended to keep people “from flocking to St. Charles County after they are barred from other areas.”
But the suit argues that other St. Charles County businesses, such as diners, restaurants without liquor licenses and the Ameristar Casino, aren’t subjected to the curfew, and that there is no scientific basis for the order.
“We just want a level playing field,” said the restaurants’ attorney, Daniel Goldberg.
Statewide, 17,470 new confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported in the past week, according to state health department data. That’s an average of about 2,496 new cases a day.
Dr. Alex Garza, who leads the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Wednesday that the numbers of coronavirus patients in the St. Louis region are dangerously high, and by all measures hospitals are facing an “extremely risky situation.”
The task force reported 871 COVID-19 patients in area hospitals, 182 in intensive care units, and 114 on ventilators. The hospitals also reported 31 patient deaths due to the virus, the highest number since the task force began tracking it in early October.
“The amount of virus spreading in our community is still putting us all at risk,” Garza said. “We are still at the height of the pandemic.”
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