<p>PRISTINA, Kosovo — A downtown restaurant in Kosovo’s capital filled its tables with mannequins Friday in a symbolic protest of the government’s decision to close eateries for two weeks in response to a surge of COVID-19 cases.</p>
<p>Petrit Kllokoqi, owner of Bagolina in Pristina, brought in the mannequins at breakfast and lunchtime.</p>
<p>“The government has not shown us any evidence that gastronomy is causing the surge,” Kllokoqi said.</p>
<p>The Kosovo government decided earlier this week to close all restaurants during April 7-18. The order affects about 4,000 restaurants and cafes with some 14,000 employees.</p>
<p>Kosovo’s gross domestic product fell 4.4% last year due to the pandemic, according to preliminary reports from the government and international institutions. Restaurant owners say financial support the government provided has been inadequate. </p>
<p>Kllokoqi, who is head of the Kosovo Gastronomers Association, said he already had cut his staff to stay in business. </p>
<p>“We can hardly survive like this,” he said. </p>
<p>Kosovo, which has a population of about 1.8 million, has reported 96,212 confirmed cases and 1,960 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Officials said hospitals are reaching their full capacity due to a recent surge of about 1,000 new cases a day.</p>
<p>Kosovo started its vaccination drive this month after receiving a first batch of 24,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the World Health Organization-backed COVAX program. </p>
