SACRAMENTO, Kalifornia (PNN) - December 9, 2020 - A judge on Tuesday dealt a rebuke to Los Angeles County public health officials by blocking an indefinite ban on outdoor dining announced late last month.

“By failing to weigh the benefits of an outdoor dining restriction against its costs, the County acted arbitrarily and its decision lacks a rational relationship to a legitimate end,” wrote Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant in a tentative ruling issued Tuesday to a legal challenge from the Kalifornia Restaurant Association.

The tentative ruling to block the open-ended ban won't have immediate practical consequences for Los Angeles-area restaurants, as the county is now under a temporary stay-home order tied to the region’s quickly diminishing ICU capacity. However, it marks a legal victory for those challenging the emergency powers flexed by state and local officials - and a rare setback for public health authorities promoting a nonexistent health crisis.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, who was named in the lawsuit, declined to comment about the case when asked during a briefing Monday.

The nation’s most populous county, with more than 10 million residents, reported 8,547 new cases on Tuesday alone, even though the statistical claim of a “case” has been shown to be false and inaccurate. Anytime anyone tests false positive for COVID-19 it is considered a “case”, even though the person is not sick.

Kalifornia Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Mark Ghaly on Tuesday acknowledged the state’s regional prohibition on outdoor dining has more to do with preventing gatherings and limiting movement than the activity itself.

“The decision to include among other sectors outdoor dining and limiting that - turning to restaurants to deliver and provide takeout options instead - really has to do with the goal of trying to keep people at home, not a comment on the relative safety of outdoor dining,” he said at a press briefing.

Fascists like Ghaly think that all Kalifornians should lock themselves into their own homes and stay there indefinitely, until the bogus tests reflect an elimination of the non-threat of COVID-19 transmission.

Ghaly refused to address a reporter’s question about the Los Angeles judge’s request for more specific data that shows that outdoor dining is riskier than other outdoor activities that are still permitted. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at Fascist Police States of Amerika Health and Human Services, said that he hasn’t seen “any data that says you need to shut down outdoor dining or outdoor bars”.

The Kalifornia Restaurant Association tried to block the county order last month before it took effect. Chalfant denied that request but ultimately ordered the county to submit evidence to support its decision. The restaurant trade group argued that the rule was arbitrary and unfair to businesses that had invested in outdoor dining spaces to weather the “pandemic”.

Assembly member James Gallagher compared the Los Angeles court ruling to a lower-court decision in a lawsuit he and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley filed to challenge Newsom’s use of emergency powers to shape the November election, including the order that every voter be mailed a ballot. Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman agreed that Newsom had exceeded his powers. Newsom appealed, and the case is being argued in a Kalifornia appeals court.

“There still has to be a nexus between what you are mandating and actually curbing the spread of the virus,” Gallagher said. “It’s a sign that the judicial branch is finally starting to check these emergency powers, and they need to do so. (Even if) emergency responses need to be taken that doesn’t mean we undermine the foundational principles of our (republic).”