SEATTLE _ From the early days of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, states have wrestled with the best course of action for bars and nightclubs, which largely have their economic prospects tied to social gatherings in tight quarters. As the virus has pinched the industry's lifeblood, bar owners in a handful of states are fighting in court against government orders that they stay closed.
But public health experts and top health officials, including the nation's top infectious diseases official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said: When bars open, infections tend to follow.
Some states moved quickly to shutter bars early in the pandemic for months or longer, keeping them entirely closed or open only under very strict conditions. Many other states moved to reopen bars on a faster timeline _ only to shut them down again as viral case counts rebounded this summer.
"We're big targets. It's just wrong," said Steve Smith, whose Nashville, Tennessee, businesses include honky-tonks that serve alcohol and cater to tourists. But some legal experts said public health authorities have broad power to close down any business they deem particularly risky.
"They can't regulate in ways that are arbitrary or capricious," said Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University. "But if there's good evidence that a certain class of establishment is causing the spread of infectious diseases, it's absolutely clear that they have the right _ in fact, they have the duty _ to do it."
The evidence that bars are a particular problem has continued to grow, said Dr. Ogechika Alozie, an infectious disease specialist in El Paso, Texas.
"If you were to create a petri dish and say, How can we spread this the most? It would be cruise ships, jails and prisons, factories, and it would be bars," said Alozie. He was a member of the Texas Medical Association committee that created a COVID-19 risk scale for common activities, such as shopping at the grocery store.
Bars top the list as the riskiest.
"You can't drink through the mask, so you're taking off your mask. There are lots of people, tight spaces and alcohol is a dis-inhibitor _ people change their behaviors," said Alozie.
