Order to go, please

It is getting hard to keep track of the rules. The on-again, off-again ruling that Wisconsin bars and restaurants limit occupancy to no more than 25% of capacity is on again. A judge had put a temporary halt to the order last week, but now the courts have sided with the Governor Tony Evers’ administration and put the order back in place. La Crosse county continues to have its own limits in place for the number of people who can be in bars and restaurants at the same time. This is a difficult balance between public safety and the economic health of those establishments, and there are no easy answers. Many bars and restaurants are hanging on, and may face losing even more money if they remain open at limited capacity. That is why La Crosse bars and restaurants that are complying with the order, even when it was temporarily blocked, are to be commended for taking the painful steps to ensure the health of their employees and their customers. With the order in place, a number of local restaurants have had to turn people away as they tried to make reservations. Even when the legality of the order was in question, and even though there is little enforcement. They continue to put public health over personal profits, and for that sacrifice, they deserve our thanks. And our patronage. So if you can’t get a table, how about an order to go?