Governor Lifts Statewide Restrictions on Businesses
Montana businesses no longer have to operate within constrained hours and reduced capacity because of COVID-19, by order of Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday. The order eliminates the restraints imposed mid-November by former Governor Steve Bullock. Gianforte said the order becomes effective within 48 hours of Tuesday afternoon, and it follows the rescinding, last week, of local mandates by Yellowstone County Health Officer John Felton.
The loosening of restrictions is being made possible by the arrival of vaccines and the decline in the number of new COVID cases in the state.
Gov. Bullock’s orders had required restaurants, bars, casinos, distilleries, etc. to operate at 50 percent capacity and to close at 10 pm. Felton had extended the limit in Yellowstone County on hours of business to all businesses, but with both state and local orders rescinded businesses in Yellowstone County may now operate at full capacity and at whatever hours they choose.
Gianforte said that previous mandates “unduly restricted” restaurants, bars and casinos. Capacity directives were arbitrary, he said, and the restrictions were complicated and confusing. He said that he heard “loud and clear” from business owners that the directives were “too complex, difficult to implement and arbitrary.”
Read more: https://www.yellowstonecountynews.com/202101150745/governor-lifts-statewide-restrictions-on-businesses/
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