Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said bars and restaurants that violate social distancing guidelines may lose their liquor licenses.
“If you go in and it’s just like mayhem, like dance party USA and it’s packed to the rafters, that’s just cut and dry. That’s not just an innocent mistake,” DeSantis said.
“There’s not going to be any tolerance for it,” said DeSantis, who has ordered restaurants and bars to operate at 50% capacity indoors.
This week the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation suspended the liquor license of The Knight’s Pub, which caters to University of Central Florida students in Orlando. The agency justified the suspension by noting The Knight’s Pub had repeatedly flouted social distancing rules, packing the bar with patrons. More than 40 employees and patrons tested positive for coronavirus after frequenting the bar, according to local media reports.