The St. Joseph County Health Department in Indiana is looking into fining bars and nightclubs that don’t comply with its mask mandate. According to WSBT, health inspectors in the county, which includes the city of South Bend, looked at about 40 bars over the past few weeks and said only about 25% were enforcing masks and social distancing.
The department said the other 75% either had some issues or were not enforcing the mandates at all. “There were fairly significant issues of people crowding next to each other in the bar and dance floor and not wearing face coverings,” said county health officer Bob Einterz.
Sean McCormick, owner of McCormick’s Bar (at right), said he’s trying to follow the guidelines as much as he can – noting his servers and bartenders all wear masks, and that he has signs and hand sanitizer available.
The news station also spoke with the general manager of Garage Arcade Bar, where there’s a doorman that requires people to put on a mask before stepping inside, or offering ones to purchase for $1.