LA county official seen dining outdoors after voting to ban outdoor dining
Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl dined outdoors at her favorite restaurant — shortly after voting to uphold a ban on outdoor dining.
Last week, amidst a coronavirus surge in Southern California, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to uphold a ban on outdoor dining if certain case counts and hospitalization metrics were met, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County crossed the case count just before Thanksgiving, and the ban took effect on Wednesday night, one day after the board vote to 3-2 to uphold the ban.
Before voting to uphold the ban, Kuehl said it was "a bit of magical thinking" to believe any server or bus person at any restaurant can always maintain the six foot distance recommended by public health officials to protect oneself from coronavirus.
"We are sitting there with no masks on," Kuehl said of most outdoor diners.
"I think it's sad, but I support this," she said as she voted for the outdoor dining ban last Tuesday. Hours later, she was reportedly spotted dining outdoors.
Barbara Osborn, Kuehl's spokesperson, confirmed the reports.
"Supervisor Kuehl did dine al fresco at Il Forno on the very last day it was permissible," Osborn wrote in an email to NBC News, referring to the Il Forno restaurant in Santa Monica, California.
"She loves Il Forno, has been saddened to see it, like so many restaurants, suffer from a decline in revenue," Osborn said. "She ate there, taking appropriate precautions, and will not dine there again until our Public Health Orders permit."
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.
