Philadelphia businesses sue to end mask mandate
Dave Magrogan, a Philadelphia restaurant owner, and Thomas King III, attorney for the petitioners, discuss the legality of the reinstated mandate and the impact on the economy.
A restaurant owner in Philadelphia, is planning to join 17 other businesses in suing the city to end the recently reinstated indoor mask mandate. Dave Magrogan said Tuesday he’s taking a stand on behalf of other restaurant owners who may not have the resources to speak out.
Magrogan said his restaurant, Barra Rossa, reported nearly pre-pandemic revenue when mandates were lifted.
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"The minute that mandate hit, our suburban guests stop coming in, business people stop coming into the cities, conventions stop," he said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday. "Everything that drives the city’s economic engine stops."
He said people are instead spending their time and money in the areas surrounding Philadelphia where masks are not required.
Thomas King III, the attorney for the 17 petitioners suing the city, said restaurants aren’t the only industry being negatively affected. He told host Ainsley Earhardt that gyms, chiropractic practices and individual parents who have children in Philadelphia schools have joined the lawsuit as well.
"The shocking part of this is that the Philadelphia Department of Health, the Board of Health, have jettisoned the CDC standards," King said.
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He explained tha the decision to reinstate mask mandates was based on standards invented by the board.
"This is a standard that won’t be found anywhere else in the United States and certainly not Pennsylvania," he said. "The rest of Pennsylvania is not covered by any of this. It’s only Philadelphia."
A sign requiring masks as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus on a store front in Philadelphia, is seen Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Magrogan considered himself lucky to be in a position to speak out against the mandate.
"I think it’s important that my voice is heard for the restaurant owners in Philadelphia that either don’t have the resources or are actually scared," he said.
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"They get scared of being canceled by guests or canceled by the city, and that’s the environment we live in in Philadelphia."
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