Staff reports 4;14 P.M.
Monday, March 16, 2020 4:15 pm

CONCORD - Beginning tomorrow all restaurants and bars in the state of New Hampshire will be required to serve patrons by takeout, delivery, and drive-through methods only.

Gov. Chris Sununu announced the extraordinary measure just moments ago in an email. The state is also prohibiting scheduled public gatherings of more than 50 people.

"Knowing neighboring states have closed restaurants and bars has caused New Hampshire to evaluate those states actions and their impact on New Hampshire's population risk profile," said Gov. Sununu. "This action will help slow the spread of this virus in New Hampshire. We do not take this decision lightly. This will be hard, but we are all in this together. Service industry employees affected by this temporary change will be able to qualify for unemployment benefits effective immediately tomorrow, where we will announce steps and set up a hotline and website for any worker adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."
This order affecting restaurants and public gatherings will remain in effect until April 7.