College town bar coronavirus outbreak infects 25 young people, Michigan officials say

A COVID-19 outbreak at a college town bar has infected more than two dozen young people, Michigan officials say.

The Ingham County Health Department says 25 people who visited Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub in East Lansing, the home of Michigan State University, have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The bar was among several in the college town that reopened to half capacity on June 8 under state guidelines. It closed two days ago after the outbreak was detected.

The health department says anyone who went to the bar between June 12-20 should quarantine for two weeks from their visit.

“Given the number of cases in this outbreak, we consider this a higher risk exposure than a typical visit to a restaurant or bar,” Ingham County Health Officer Linda S. Vail said in a Wednesday news release. “There are likely more people infected with COVID-19 not yet identified. We need help from people who went to Harper’s during the exposure dates so that we can contain the outbreak. We need everyone exposed to stay home.”

So far, everyone who’s tested positive was between the ages of 18 and 23, officials said. None of them have been hospitalized and most have mild symptoms while four people are asymptomatic, officials said.

Videos of reopening night on June 8 from a reporter for State News, the university’s school newspaper, show people lining up down the street to enter the bar. Inside, the dance floor was crowded.

The bar described the response from customers after it reopened as “exuberant” with “clientele of all ages enjoying our deck, food from scratch, and our organic, reduced-gluten, craft-brewed beers,” according to a Facebook post.

Harper’s has closed again to implement a new system to eliminate lines and install an air purifying system it says will remove 99.4% of the virus,

“This decision comes after much deliberation within our family,” Harper’s said. “Although we have developed and implemented procedures above and beyond the State’s requirements for re-opening, and made significant financial investments in complete touch-free restrooms, our family feels the responsibility to do more.”