Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining reopened Friday, but the Health Department is banning restaurants from turning on their televisions. It appears this may be some sort of plan to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during the upcoming Super Bowl gatherings on Sunday, February 7.

What a joke! If you think about it, this move by the L.A. County’s Department of Health is actually going to send people indoors to watch the great American pass time with family and friends at home. I’m not a virologist, but I’m guessing being at home in more enclosed spaces with others presents a higher risk of contracting coronavirus than sitting outside at a restaurant with eight feet between tables.

In fact, under the new county rules, the outdoor dining and wine service seating must be limited to 50% capacity. Tables must be positioned at least eight feet apart, although there is no explanation as to why eight feet, rather than six feet.

Moreover, the outdoor seating will be limited to six people per table. Just in case you thought you can go with anyone you like, think again. It appears that somehow the restaurant owners will have to ensure that the people at the table are from the same household, according to the new Health Department mandates.

Bill Melugin, with Fox News LA, tweeted “outdoor dining has reopened in L.A. County as of today, but now the Health Department is banning restaurants from having their TVs turned on for customers.”

“It’s obvious the Health Department wants to stop people from watching the Super Bowl outdoors at sports bars/restaurants, so now they are going to force people to watch it indoors at private home gatherings by taking the outdoor option away. Absolutely brilliant.” he tweeted.

Melugin was right in pointing out that turning off the televisions won’t stop the spread of the virus. But sending people underground, sort-of-speak, to watch the Super Bowl could lead to other issues, like the government asking neighbors to turn in neighbors.

Remember that’s what we’ve been seeing in the United States, Canada and other parts of the world. Maybe California Governor Gavin Newsom will do what Oregon Governor Brown did during Thanksgiving last year when she encouraged neighbors to turn in neighbors that violated her state’s COVID-19 mandates, which included limiting the number of people that could be invited into a citizens home.

It does seem unbelievable, un-American and frankly, sets a communist precedence but that appears to be the direction we’re heading as a nation. It’s a brave new world folks and 2021 is just getting started.

You can follow Sara A. Carter on Twitter @SaraCarterDC