(FOX NEWS) – Washington, D.C., will roll back its COVID-19 restrictions on indoor dining beginning Friday, Jan. 22 at 5 a.m., allowing restaurants and bars to return to 25% capacity, or no more than 250 people.
The move, first announced on Wednesday in a tweet by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff, John Falcicchio, aligns with the end of an “Inauguration Pause” on city’s Phase 2 reopening activities.
The “Inauguration Pause” was an extension of a Dec. 23 order implemented to flatten the curve amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which was set to expire on Jan. 15. Bowser cited ongoing “public health and safety” concerns as the reason for the extension, following a riot at the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters on Jan. 6 that left five people dead.
