BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A visitor to many bars in the Bismarck area might go a few hours without giving the coronavirus pandemic a second thought.
Some venues are packed end to end, with friends gathered around blackjack tables, and people lined against the bar trying to attract the attention of wait staff. Some groups seem to try to keep to themselves, seated around one table, while others flit around the space. No one wears a face mask.
Bars, restaurants and other businesses have now been open in North Dakota for two months following coronavirus shutdowns. As part of the state’s “ND Smart Restart” plan, businesses were asked to follow guidelines that slowly became looser as risk lessened. The state Department of Health ranks risk as “low,” meaning it still recommends bars and restaurants run at 75% capacity with at least 6 feet of space between tables and strict cleaning procedures followed around gambling and other activities.
Though the state has issued guidelines related to social distancing at bars and restaurants, there is no requirement that establishments follow any guidelines that are not already part of food hygiene and safety codes.
“You could consider it being self regulated because customers are looking for confidence,” Julie Wagendorf, director of the Food and Lodging division of the Department of Health, told The Bismarck Tribune.
Though it could not shut down an establishment if it were disregarding guidelines, the division has been “working actively with industry” throughout the shutdown and reopening stages, Wagendorf said. Officials have been contacting each establishment to ensure they have access to the guidelines and preforming virtual reviews of businesses’ virus-mitigation efforts.
Now that the risk has lessened, Wagendorf said the division will begin in-person reviews of hygiene and distancing practices. If they found inadequate social distancing in an establishment, she said they would share their concerns with business owners and recommend changes.
Bars, typically very tactile venues, in some ways have more challenges than restaurants or stores in the post-shutdown era. Reopening has been a process of “relearning how to do things,” Mary Lechler, manager of Borrowed Bucks, said.
The dance floor was closed when the venue reopened May 1, but has since opened. Though there are no markings on the floor to help people socially distance, the DJ periodically reminds dancers between songs.
Keeping up with cleaning, such as wiping down a table someone has only briefly brushed passed, has been a challenge.
“We’re used to running a bar, but it’s learning even how to keep it more clean than we already were,” Lechler said.
‘Just live your life’
Outside of the Sports Page in Bismarck on a recent Thursday night, patrons smoke cigarettes and escape the humid air of the bar. There’s a two-for-one special on drinks and the space is especially crowded.
When the conversation topic turns to COVID-19, people tend to shout their opinions all at once, some half-jokingly, some seriously. Most believe the worry is overblown.
“Some people don’t want to hear about this, don’t want to talk about COVID,” said Brent Hoff, a Bismarck resident who said he started going out to bars about two weeks after establishments reopened.
Hoff said that while he takes the threat of COVID-19 seriously, the health effects of being cooped up inside began to outweigh the risk of potentially contracting a virus he expects he would survive as a younger person.
“It’s not going to go away, but you need to slowly get the community back together like it was before,” he said of coronavirus.
Hoff’s own community has changed due to the pandemic. While he once had a core group of friends with whom to go out, he said, most of them are still avoiding public places, especially a few who have chronic health conditions. He has made different drinking friends at various bars who share his attitude: “Just live your life and do your thing.”
While Hoff was used to crowds post-COVID, another bargoer that night, Eric Chambers, was not. Chambers said he had only attempted to go out once since restrictions were lifted, but that venue wasn’t “packed” like the Sports Page.
Seeking karaoke one night after work, he braved Bismarck’s Corral Bar but found no one else was choosing to sing. He estimated there were only about 10 people there. A “huge” bottle of hand sanitizer sat prominently on the bar, he said.
“I wanted to sing really bad, but by the time I got there and the vibe … it just wasn’t right,” Chambers said. “So I had a beer and I cruised the Strip.”
The owners of the Sports Page declined comment for this story.
‘A great disinhibitor’
A typical bar setting is “a surefire recipe for having coronavirus spread widely,” said Sanford Health infectious disease consultant Dr. Noe Mateo.
There are several factors at play, he said. First, it’s usually a small indoor space in which it’s difficult to socially distance. It’s also usually very loud, which means people are yelling over music to speak, multiplying the aerosols they’re sending into the air. And alcohol is “a great disinhibitor.”
“These healthy things and precautions you have when you’re sober go by the wayside,” Mateo said.
People who still want to have a drink with a few trusted friends should find a less-crowded venue where they can sit far apart from other patrons and not crowd around a serving area, Mateo said. He also said portable hand sanitizer is a good thing to have on hand to supplement surface cleaning that businesses should be doing. He stressed the general importance of face masks in public settings, though he said they’re not as necessary for small groups, especially outdoors.
Mateo said he himself would not venture into an indoor bar at this point in time.
‘It’s heating up’
Hoff said he was much more comfortable going out in Bismarck than he would be in Fargo or Grand Forks, cities that have consistently seen higher numbers of coronavirus cases.
“We’re in the middle of the whole state — we’re not getting hit that much. It’s towards Grand Forks and Fargo because of that border (with Minnesota),” he said. “People are getting overdramatic because of that.”
Mateo said he understands this thinking, but active tests in the Bismarck-Mandan area have begun to rise and he believes the area will see much further spread of the virus.
“I think it’s heating up,” he said.
Community spread is the leading source of transmission in Burleigh County, according to health department data. Mateo said he has not yet seen any clusters traced back to a bar or restaurant, but it is difficult for the department to trace a COVID-19 case to a specific location within a community.
North Dakota is “still knee deep in the first wave” of coronavirus, Mateo said.
“I’d say it’s a good bet we’re going to get a second wave, but we’re not done with the first wave,” he said.
Business owners should anticipate having to take coronavirus measures until at least another year from now, Mateo said, which is when he thinks it’s realistic that a vaccine could be widely available, rendering the coronavirus “the new normal” due to herd immunity. Before then, he said, it is up to people, institutions and businesses to stay vigilant.
“People can negotiate with each other,” he said. “The virus doesn’t negotiate with anybody or anything.”
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