By day, Bianca Ambrosia works on the COVID-19 floor at a Birmingham area hospital, where she wears a mask to protect herself from the virus.
But at night, she says she frequents crowded bars and generally doesn’t wear a mask unless she’s asked to wear one while ordering or visiting a bathroom. Late Friday night, Ambrosia sat down for a drink on a stool in front of Mojo Pub in Birmingham’s Lakeview neighborhood.
“I work in the health care industry, so I feel like I probably won’t get it if I haven’t received it so far,” he said. “In general, bars make you wear a mask when you first walk in. But once you are alone in a cabin or somewhere, you can take it off. How are you going to have a drink with a mask?
The answer to that question for many Birmingham bar patrons on Friday night and early Saturday was simply without covering their faces. Dozens of people crowded into each of the Lakeview, Avondale, and Southside bars, and many more congregated in their outdoor spaces.
Some said they were concerned that Jefferson County is experiencing an increase in new COVID-19 cases. But others said they were not concerned.
Of the 4,802 COVID-19 cases that had been confirmed in Alabama’s largest county at 10 am Friday, a record 1,321, or more than 27.5 percent, of those cases were added in the past seven days, according to the Alabama Department of Health. Alabama also reported its largest single-day state increase in new cases on Friday, with 1,758 confirmed cases within 24 hours, according to the department.
As Ambrosia pointed out, most watering holes in Birmingham require their customers to wear masks when entering, but many people took them off when they sat down to drink late Friday and early Saturday at some of the city’s most popular night spots. Other drinkers hovered with nothing covering their faces.
Some people, like 21-year-old college student Brandon Carlyle, chose to sit outside, where they said they felt their risk of getting COVID-19 was lower. Carlyle and fellow student Brandon Martin, also 21, drank beer together on Friday night at a table several feet from other customers in front of the Good People Brewing Company.
“I think people should wear masks when they go out. I would worry about spreading it, but I am not worried about the symptoms by myself; It’s probably like a serious flu, “Carlyle said.” Smaller, outdoor places like this are smarter. More indoor bars and bigger places are very dangerous. “
Kyle Barnett said he generally doesn’t wear a mask, but will wear one if someone asks him to wear it. He visited three bars before 12:30 on Saturday morning, including the Oasis Bar in Lakeview, where he spoke to people up front without covering his face.
“I feel safe. I am not afraid, I am not worried. I feel very healthy. I checked my temperature before,” he said. “Most people respect me, but I have noticed that sometimes they look at me strangely when I do not use a mask. I don’t know if they’re worried or angry or what. “
Meanwhile, a significant number of Birmingham bar owners and restaurateurs are taking precautions to protect their customers from the coronavirus.
Andrew Collins, owner of Collins Bar in Birmingham’s 2nd Avenue North corridor, says he has had no reports of a COVID-19 positive person visiting his establishment. He says the steps he has taken to prevent the spread of the virus have helped him keep his doors open since he reopened his business in May after the city pandemic closed.
“We don’t allow anyone to go up to the bar and have a drink. You have to sit at a table or at one of our booths, which have Plexiglas between them, ”he said as he sat at a sidewalk table outside his bar on Friday night. “You must wear a mask to go to the bathroom, you must wear a mask if you want to get close to someone. If you don’t have a mask, we will provide them for you.
Hannah Delashaw said Friday night was her “first time out in a while” as she sat without a mask with a couple of other customers at a table outside Collins Bar. Delashaw, who was celebrating her boyfriend’s boyfriend’s birthday. Sister said she appreciates the steps the bar is taking to protect its clients.
“I try to keep my distance and wear my mask when I come and go from the table,” he said. “I am still quite cautious; a lot of people are not cautious at all. “
However, in some cases, precautions do not prevent some people from trying to enter businesses without masks, as evidenced by images from grocery stores and restaurants across the country where fights have broken out over the issue.
Gil Weingarten worked the door Friday night at Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint. He said the Lakeview establishment has also had no positive customers or employees for COVID-19, but noted that since the pandemic began, “many” bars and restaurants in the city have had to temporarily close for deep clean-ups after the coronavirus. exhibitions.
Still, Jack Brown’s sees his share of people trying to eat or drink there without covering their faces, which Weingarten said he and management don’t allow.
“We really haven’t had that much trouble with people who don’t want to wear masks,” he said. “But we have had some very vocal people who did not want to wear masks.”
Daniel Avery, who also works in the healthcare field, was drinking with Ambrosia outside the Mojo Pub on Friday night. Avery, who was not wearing a face mask, said that instead of being subject to restrictions, people should be able to trust each other to do the right thing to protect each other from COVID-19.
“I think my biggest concern is that this virus is not going anywhere, so continuing to shut down the economy and close businesses is not going to work,” he said.
“I like to think that if people feel sick or have symptoms, you will stay home … And I really think there are some people who are spreading it asymptomatically, some people who are irresponsible.” We have a duty to our community. We have to keep each other safe. ”
