At least 152 coronavirus cases linked to Michigan bar

At least 152 cases of coronavirus are linked to a bar in East Lansing, Michigan, health officials said.

The current cases that were traced to Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub “includes 128 primary cases and 24 secondary cases,” Amanda Darche, a spokesperson for the Ingham Health Department, told CNN.

Secondary cases are people who were infected but did not visit Harper’s.

The new estimated number of cases that stemmed from the bar is an almost 50% jump from the 107 cases health officials had reported on Tuesday. Initially, 14 positive cases were reported. That number quickly changed.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday banned indoor service at bars throughout most of lower Michigan “following recent outbreaks tied to bars,” she said.

Several states, including Texas and California, have ordered bars to close, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Tuesday warned of the specific dangers that bars pose during during the pandemic.

“Bars: really not good, really not good,” Fauci said at a hearing. “Congregation at a bar, inside, is bad news. We really have got to stop that.”

Health officials have asked anyone who visited the establishment between June 12 and June 20 to self-quarantine.

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. On its website, the bar states that patrons “voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19” when visiting.

As of Thursday afternoon, Michigan had 71,678 confirmed cases of coronavirus and at least 6,212 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.