Milwaukee Health Commissioner: Bars, restaurants will need permission to stay open

Milwaukee's Third Ward — People enjoy a sunny evening atop the roof at Cafe Benelux in the photo from Visit Milwaukee.
From Visit Milwaukee website

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(The Center Square) – Bars and restaurants in Milwaukee are going to have to get permission to stay open under the city's next coronavirus order.

Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said bars and restaurants in the city will soon need to submit a coronavirus safety plan to her office.

"You're not going to be able to serve indoors unless you have that approved plan," Kowalik told reporters.

She did not, however, say what that plan must include, or when bars and restaurants in the city must submit their plans.

"We're looking at giving people some time to do that," Kowalik said.

Milwaukee's bars and restaurants are open right now, but they are only open at 50 percent capacity. Kowalik's to-be-issued new order would bring that down to zero percent capacity without her approval.

It is a similar process to the one she is using for schools in Milwaukee.

Kowalik angered colleges and universities in the city at the end of June when she quietly changed Milwaukee's order to forbid them from reopening. She later changed the order again to allow colleges and universities to have in-person classes, but only after getting her permission.

Kowalik on Tuesday said UW Milwaukee, The Institute of Beauty and Wellness, and the Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study have had their plans approved. Marquette, the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and a handful of other schools have submitted their plans for review.