RI Bars Hit With Early Last Call Amid Coronavirus Crackdown

PROVIDENCE, RI — Last call is coming earlier in Rhode Island starting Friday night.

Due to a surge in the state's positive rate of coronavirus testing — and ensuing travel restrictions for Rhode Island residents traveling to neighboring states — Gov. Gina Raimondo announced a series of crackdowns during her Wednesday news conference that includes an earlier close for bar service aimed at eliminating the type of congregating that takes place at later hours and can contribute to virus spread.

"We continue to see that bars are a problem," she said. "Bars are doing OK, not great, at enforcing the rules. (During weekend inspections) 20 percent of bars were still not separating the bartender from the customer. That is totally unacceptable."

Gov. Raimondo has threatened harsher restrictions — and even possible closures — for bars that do not adopt restaurant-style service such as seated-only wait staff service, and do not enforce adequate social distancing between parties. She said the issue is similar at bar areas of restaurants where customers are allowed to converge and wait for drinks.

On Wednesday, she announced the new serving curfew with the promise of even more dire consequences ahead if coronavirus numbers continue to rise in the state while inspectors find violations.

"We are going to be out in force enforcing this," she said. "I will, unfortunately, have to close bars —the operating part of the bar — if we can't get a hold on congregating.

"You cannot have people congregating in your bar area. I don't know how else to say it."

Raimondo said the state has been "bending over backwards" to try to keep alcohol-related business open as other states with a surge in numbers have closed bars and shut off indoor dining.

"I don't want to do that," she said, "because I think that would be an economic disaster. I am trying to do measured steps to get our numbers back down a bit so we can get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago."

The added restrictions come a day after Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York all instituted quarantine rules for RI residents traveling to those states because of increased positivity rates.

"I can't convince the other governors to change their rules. I have to convince Rhode Islanders to follow our own rules," Raimondo said.

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