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At least nine bars in Seattle were closed over the weekend either because a worker tested positive for COVID-19 or came into contact with an infected person.
The Unicorn on Capitol Hill and Jupiter Bar in Belltown each had two vaccinated workers who tested positive for COVID-19 and they immediately closed their doors, each bar’s management team said Tuesday. The owners of both bars say they plan to reopen on Friday as the test results have been negative for the rest of their staff. They also plan to take new measures to try to protect their customers.
The temporary closings come as King County has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases of wearing masks again in public indoor spaces in recent weeks due to the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommended Tuesday that people in parts of the United States with rising COVID-19 infection rates should return to wearing masks indoors.
Unicorn bar owner Adam Heimstadt said he didn’t think local health officials went far enough with a mask proposal. When his bar on Capitol Hill reopens on Friday, Heimstadt will ask all diners to show the bouncer their COVID-19 vaccination card along with ID to drink at his bar. “I wish this was a mandate for all bars,” he said. “We all need to band together to request a vaccination card. It’s the only way. If that doesn’t work in one place, people just go to this bar and possibly make someone sick. “
“It’s just a big disappointment,” Heimstadt said. “We all want to get out of this pandemic.”
(Another popular bar on Capitol Hill, The Doctor’s Office, recently posted on Facebook that starting Jan.
In Belltown, Jupiter bar owner Joey Nix said he would only reopen at 50% capacity and bring back the plastic sign he previously used to separate customers from everyone working behind the bar counter. One of his bartenders and a doorman tested positive for COVID-19 last week, even though they were both vaccinated. Both had mild symptoms, management said. Nix is also considering to force a vaccination certificate for entry.
In the other seven cases, the bars were temporarily closed either because a staff member tested positive or came in contact with someone who did so. These temporary closings included Rumba and Inside Passage on Capitol Hill, Shorty’s in Belltown, Bar Harbor in South Lake Union, Holy Mountain Brewing in Interbay, The Masonry in Uptown, and The Masonry in Fremont.
