Monday afternoon, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu ordered all bars and restaurants in the Granite State to close to in-person patrons, effective midnight Tuesday, over coronavirus concerns.

This follows a similar order by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday.

Under the governor’s mandate, eateries in New Hampshire will be able to service customers via takeout, delivery and drive-throughs only.

“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,” Sununu said in a statement. “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.”

The governor is 100 percent correct. The decision was a difficult one; however, some eateries – like Michael Timothy’s Dining Group – already had made that tough call.

While it will be inconvenient to many, it is best for our community in the long term, as limiting crowds is a sure way to curb COVID-19 cases.

The real issues is not inconvenience. The burden falls on restaurant owners and workers, who – like most people – must have that regular income to live and take care of their families.

Thankfully, Sununu is stepping in and making benefits available immediately.

“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,” the governor tweeted Monday.

While it may get worse before it gets better, the short-term sacrifices will pay off immensely in terms of the potential loss of life if this virus were to take a true foothold.

Kudos to Sununu for protecting the state’s residents.

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