A Florida lady and 15 of her mates have reportedly examined constructive with the coronavirus after an evening out at a bar in Jacksonville Beach.
“Welp, Florida opened back up & my ass should’ve stayed tf home this past weekend cause I just tested positive for the damn COVID,” she wrote on Facebook final week. “#IKnowBetter #MyFault #WearYourMasksPeople”
The lady, Erika Crisp, informed native information station News4Jax that she and her mates have been (*15*) being cautious to socially distance and staying inside for months. The solely widespread denominator between the group, she stated, is one night time out earlier this month after bars and eating places started reopening within the state.
“And then the first night we go out, Murphy’s Law, I guess,” she informed the station.
Crisp, 40, is a healthcare employee and stated the group was not carrying masks, one thing she regrets.
“I think we were careless and we went out into a public place when we should not have,” she informed the information station. “I think we had a whole ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality. The state opens back up and said everybody was fine, so we took advantage of that.”
The bar Crisp and her mates went to, Lynch’s Irish Pub, closed voluntarily final Friday for cleansing after studying one buyer had examined constructive. They additionally examined their workers, and 7 employees examined constructive as effectively.
“It literally spread like wildfire,” the bar’s normal supervisor Keith Doherty, who can be a member of the Jacksonville Beach metropolis council, informed News4Jax. The bar reopened Tuesday morning, and Doherty stated they plan to test buyer and employees temperatures on the door. Other bars within the space closed Sunday after prospects examined constructive.
But Crisp wrote on Facebook that she thinks it was most likely an asymptomatic individual unknowingly spreading the virus. She additionally stated that 20 different individuals she didn’t know who went to the bar have messaged her saying they’ve now additionally examined constructive.
“It’s the common denominator from a bunch of strangers. And no, we did NOT bar hop. It was the ONLY bar my group of people went to & it was the only time I saw them,” she wrote.
Crisp additionally posted that she ought to’ve been extra cautious, and that she loves the bar and doesn’t need to harm its fame.
“I encourage everyone to be considerate of others. We’re not out to hurt anyone or damage an establishment’s reputation. We have no agenda or motive,” she wrote. “These are crap times so be kind.”
In an announcement to BuzzFeed News, Duval County Department of Health spokesperson Samantha Epstein stated they’re conducting “an extensive epidemiological investigation in conjunction with the CDC to identify individuals who may have had close contact with the virus,” as they do with all constructive circumstances within the state.
She added that there’s “no direct correlation between bars reopening and a rise in positive cases. We have not seen any outbreaks at local bars, other than that specific location in Jacksonville Beach.”
Neither Crisp nor Lynch’s Irish Pub responded to interview requests from BuzzFeed News. The county division of well being additionally didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Florida was one of many first states within the nation to start reopening, however circumstances have continued to rise. On Tuesday, the state reported a record-high 2,783 new circumstances of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez stated that though a lot of the state is in Phase 2 of reopening, Miami is pausing the method due to considerations concerning the elevated unfold.
“Now is not a time to let your guard down, that’s the predominant message. If we continue on this trajectory we’re gonna be put in a situation where we’re gonna have to make tough choices,” he stated, based on the native NBC station. “We’re not going backwards as of yet, but we’re kind of sounding the alarm.”
