People who went to a bar in Michigan at any time during a recent 9-day period were asked to self-quarantine after dozens who visited the facility contracted the coronavirus. So far, 76 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the bar, Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub in East Lansing, the Ingham County Health Department said in a tweet on Friday.
The number of cases connected to the bar has increased rapidly. Thirty-four cases were linked Wednesday, a number that has now more than doubled and is likely to increase again, according to authorities.
On Wednesday, the health department urged anyone who visited the facility between June 12 and 20 to quarantine for 14 days from the day of their visit.
All those who tested positive for Wednesday’s announcement were between the ages of 18 and 23, the health department said in a statement. None had been hospitalized and most had mild symptoms, the department said.
“Given the number of cases in this outbreak, we consider this to be a higher risk exposure than a typical visit to a restaurant or bar,” Linda S. Vail, Ingham County Health Officer, said in Wednesday’s statement. “There are likely to be more unidentified COVID-19 infected people. We need the help of people who went to Harper’s during the exposure dates so that we can contain the outbreak. We need all those exposed to stay home.”
In a Facebook post earlier this week, the bar said it reopened to 50% of capacity on June 8, according to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order. She said she implemented signage to encourage customers to wear face masks and social distance, but admitted that the policies have been difficult to enforce on public sidewalks outside of the property.
The establishment said it is now temporarily closed to do two things: “implement a program to eliminate lines and modify our HVAC system to install air purification technology while the air is being conditioned and recirculated.”
He thanked his clients for their support during the pandemic. “The extraordinary exuberant response to our reopening has exceeded our expectations,” the bar wrote on Facebook on Monday. “This decision comes after much deliberation within our family.”
Michigan now has more than 62,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, a number that is constantly increasing. More than 5,800 people have died from COVID-19 in the state.
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