More than 100 Covid-19 cases linked to Michigan bar

At least 107 coronavirus cases have been linked to a bar in East Lansing, Michigan, health officials tell CNN.

The Ingham County Health Department is asking patrons who visited Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub between June 12 and June 20 to self-quarantine and report cases of Covid-19, the department said in a statement.

Of the more than 100 positive cases, 12 are from secondary transmission, Ingham County Health Officer Linda S. Vail said Monday night.

The number of positive cases linked to the bar has risen rapidly since it was first reported Tuesday. Initially, 14 positive cases were reported, that jumped to 34 on Wednesday. By Saturday, that had risen to about 85, Vail told CNN.

The bar followed safety guidelines for employees, capacity guidelines and table spacing, Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub said in a June 22 statement on Facebook.

“Harper’s re-opened at 50% capacity on June 8th according to the Governor’s executive order, and have welcomed back our employees and numerous customers to our restaurant and brewpub. The extraordinary exuberant response to our re-opening has been beyond our expectations,” the statement on Facebook read.

The bar attempted to tell customers waiting in line “to wear face coverings and practice social distancing” by posting signs on the sidewalk,” according to the post.

“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,” the statement read. “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 opted to close down temporarily to install air purifiers and to eliminate lines, according to the statement.