EAST LANSING – A COVID-19 outbreak at Harper’s Restaurant has infected at least 25 people, health officials said Wednesday morning. 

The Ingham County Health Department is recommending that anyone who visited the East Lansing bar and restaurant between June 12 and June 20 quarantine for two weeks from the day of 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 Vail said in a press 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.”

Health officials continue to recommend anyone who went to Harper’s in that time frame get tested even if they don’t have symptoms. 

All of the people with cases linked to Harper’s are between the ages of 18 and 23, according to a press release from the health department.

None have been hospitalized, since most have mild symptoms, the release adds, and four are asymptomatic.

Outbreak announced Tuesday

Officials first announced the outbreak on Tuesday, the morning after Harper’s announced it would close for modifications.

Read more: UPDATE: 22 coronavirus cases linked to outbreak at Harper’s Restaurant in East Lansing

We “have chosen to close temporarily to do two things – implement a program to eliminate lines, and to modify our HVAC system to install an air purifying technology that will remove 99.4% of the COVID-19 virus (including other viruses, bacteria and mold) while the air is being conditioned and re-circulated,” the restaurant said Monday on its Facebook page.

The posting makes no mention of positive COVID-19 tests.

Health department officials said a complaint regarding a lack of social distancing at Harper’s was received by the environmental health division via phone on June 18.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said Tuesday that the health department visited Harper’s the same day regarding a pair of people who had tested positive for COVID-19.

City officials said Tuesday they sat down around that same time to talk with Harper’s, the health department and Michigan State University to talk about communicating the importance of safe behaviors. 

Harper’s put up more signage after that, encouraging masks and social distancing, City Manager George Lahanas said, but it still seemed that young people weren’t taking those recommendations seriously.

Harper’s has not responded to multiple requests for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.

Officials: People need to take this seriously 

“What we really want people to do is take this seriously,” Vail said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference. 

If cases like this continue to erupt, Vail said, businesses and restaurants may have to close again. 

Like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order says, patrons should wear masks in restaurants and bars until they are seated at the table, Vail said. 

She said businesses and restaurants need to enforce mask-wearing, and know they have the right to deny someone entry for not wearing a mask. 

“There was not a lot of mask wearing at Harper’s,” Vail said. 

Vail said she’s seen employees wear masks under their nose, or pulled down to their chin. 

“We cannot have that be the way restaurants, bars and businesses are wearing masks,” she said. 

One city official expressed interest Tuesday night in finding a way to require businesses to do better. 

“If we don’t have a method for requiring responsibility, I want a situation where we can shut it down if they won’t do it themselves,” Aaron Stephens, the city’s mayor pro tem, said. 

Mayor Ruth Beier said during the council meeting Tuesday night that based on conversation with the city attorney and the health department, it’s an issue that’s hard to police. 

“Young people can choose to wear masks and social distance, but we can’t compel them to do that,” Beier said. 

‘I don’t want to roll those dice’

Beier appealed to the students, saying she was in their shoes at one time and hopes she would have chosen to “protect myself and to protect my friends, and especially the people in my community who could die because I chose to drink and socialize.”

Young people tend to think they’re immortal, Vail said, or that they are immune to the virus because of their age.

But people of all ages have tested positive, and some cases have been serious. 

She said she knows some young people think they have a low chance of getting COVID-19 and an even lower chance of dying from it. 

“I don’t want to roll those dice,” Vail said. “That is not a risk I want to take.”

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