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The coronavirus pandemic is not over yet. In fact, a resurgence has led to a number of states across the country pausing reopening and even backtracking on the progress that has been made. States like New York and New Jersey are pausing plans to reopen in-person dining at restaurants, while states like Texas, Florida, and California are going backward.
One of the main causes of the recent surges has been mass gatherings — which is one of the reasons why social distancing was so important — and bars have been identified as one of the main places people congregate and spread the virus.
Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub in East Lansing, Michigan is proof.
According to CNN, the bar is linked to “at least 107” new cases of COVID-19 since reopening. That has led to anyone who visited the bar between the dates of June 12 and June 20 being asked to self-quarantine.
“Our oversight of the line on our stairs has been successful, but trying to get customers to follow our recommendations on the public sidewalk has been challenging,” a rep from Harper’s wrote in a Facebook statement. “Because we have no authority to control lines on public property, we are left with the dilemma of staying open and letting this situation continue, or closing until we can devise a strategy that eliminates the lines altogether.”
The bar has since reclosed.
Let this serve as a reminder to everyone that we are not out of the woods yet, so if we want to get back to life as normal, people need to take social distancing and mask-wearing seriously.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 126,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
