Bar employees tested positive for COVID-19 — and kept working, Arizona officials say

Maddie Capron
·1 min read

Managers at an Arizona bar had employees who tested positive for COVID-19 continue working, the state’s Department of Liquor Licenses and Control said.

Varsity Tavern in Tempe, Arizona, violated multiple Arizona liquor laws to protect customers, according to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.

“Multiple instances where [management] require[ed] or permit[ted] employees and managers known to have tested positive for COVID-19 to continue working,” the state department said in a news release. “[Management] fail[ed] to take appropriate measures to notify the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) or other agencies, employees, or customers that employees who had tested positive had worked while symptomatic.”

Officials said the bar also did not follow CDC or state guidelines, and managers did not enforce social distancing or mask requirements.

The bar chose to shut down Wednesday, according to the department. Department officials said they will seek to revoke the bar’s liquor license, according to the news release.

Last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey shut down all bars, gyms, movie theaters and water parks again until July 27, according to ABC15. In Maricopa County, which includes Tempe, officials have mandated the use of masks in all public spaces since June 19, according to the Arizona Republic.

On Wednesday, Arizona reported 4,878 new coronavirus cases, a single-day record for the state, according to KTAR News.

“The previous single-day highs were 4,682 on Tuesday and 79 deaths from June 24,” KTAR News reported. “However, both of those figures were inflated because they included older data that hadn’t previously been accounted for in the stat reports. Wednesday’s report came with no such caveat.”