(thread) BIG day today. Follow along with city commerce reporter @emilyy_bevard and I for any and all updates! https://twitter.com/thesnews/status/1286310933992738817

For background: https://twitter.com/thesnews/status/1283859140301987851

The COVID19 outbreak between June 12-20 was referenced. This is a reminder that we have reached four-weeks since the final exposure date, allowing the health department to stop monitoring the incident if they wish — as of July 20, the case count stands at 187.

Patrick Riley said that, before they re-opened, they created a COVID19 procedures guide and shared it throughout the staff. He said they provided free face masks to all, conducted health screenings of and training for the staff, switched to disposable dishes and items + more.

Patrick said that, while they voluntarily closed Harper’s on June 20, they have decided to continue the closure for the time being.

Patrick also said that they did not advertise the re-opening on any of their social media accounts.

The Commissioners asked the Riley’s if, after their overwhelming re-opening on June 8, they changed their procedures at all to limit the chances of it happening again. Patrick said he was unaware that their customers, who were mostly college kids, would mingle. @thesnews

One specific scenario Patrick mentioned was a call he got from his staff June 9, where he was warned about customers pushing socially distanced tables together. He said they quickly got to work fixing the issue by bolting the furniture down. @thesnews

Patrick again said he wishes they would have recognized the issues of allowing their customers to mingle. He said they had a lot going on and it was not something that was at the forefront of concern because there were no rules about it by health agencies. @thesnews

Linda Vail, health officer at the Ingham County Health Dept., said she put two county-wide orders in place shortly after the beginning of the outbreak. On March 16, food establishment capacity was taken down to 50%. On March 27, health screening became mandatory for staff.

Vail said on June 23, three days after Harper’s officially re-closed, there was 14 cases of COVID19 reported. One day later, the numbers spiked to a total of 34 and a quarantine recommendation was issued by the ICHD. @thesnews

Vail said that Ingham County has stricter limitations on restaurant capacity than the rest of Michigan does. This is to target establishments, like Harper’s, who have capacities of 250+. Currently, only 125 patrons are allowed to dine at the same time. @thesnews

East Lansing Police Dept. Detective Jeff Spitz confirmed that the city attorney asked police officers to be selective when enforcing executive orders. @thesnews

Article by @emilyy_bevard: https://statenews.com/article/2020/06/el-city-council-discusses-citys-ability-to-enforce-social-distancing-at-local-bars

Vail said that, before the bar re-opens, she would like a plan of procedure from the Riley’s to review, as well as the ability to go on site to conduct both an inspection and evaluation in order to be sure Harper’s will be complying with all executive orders properly. @thesnews

Patrick said that they are looking into doing a “soft,” or staged, re-opening, where they will only utilize their outdoor deck at first. He thinks this will be easier to monitor, as it’s a significantly smaller and open-air zone. @thesnews