The chief epidemiologist for Allegheny County testified on Wednesday that restaurants operating at full capacity and without the need for a mask during the covid-19 pandemic pose “absolutely” a risk to the community.
LuAnn Brink, who also serves as deputy director of the county health department, was the first witness called at a hearing involving the closure of the Crack’d Egg. The restaurant claimed that the closing order was not valid.
The Brentwood restaurant was closed by the health department on August 11 after county inspectors found that neither staff nor customers were wearing masks, as required by the governor’s covid-19 mitigation orders. Owner Kimberly Waigand, however, ignored the closure notice and continued to operate. She bragged on social media that she is fighting tyranny and spoke at a rally in Harrisburg in September.
During an opening statement, his lawyer, James Cooney, said there is no evidence that the governor’s mitigation orders are effective and, furthermore, that there is no legal authority for them.
The hearing, before Common Pleas Judge John McVay, is expected to continue until Friday. It will resume on Thursday morning with Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, taking the position.
Brink, who spent much of the day testifying, said that while there was some confusion at the beginning of the pandemic about the effectiveness of the masks, they have already proved effective.
“For me, it makes biological sense,” she said.
Brink noted that masks have proven effective for hundreds of years in capturing droplets that transmit disease. Public health officials have recommended simple cloth masks to prevent the user from spreading the disease.
“There is a literature that talks about the reproduction rate of the virus,” she said. “Studies have shown a seven-fold reduction in transmission in areas that use masks.”
Brink said he is not aware of any dispute over this point in the epidemiological community.
“If you wear a mask, you control the number of viral particles you expel,” she said. “The number is smaller. The drops are smaller. The viral particles are smaller when you have a mask covering your face. “
“So, is it better to wear a mask to prevent the virus than not to wear it?” asked county attorney Michael Parker.
“Absolutely,” replied Brink.
She said that restaurants operating at full capacity and without the need for a mask pose a risk to the community.
As for social detachment requirements, Brink said that observations from local health officials showed that closures and physical detachment helped keep the number of cases low in the spring.
But when Pennsylvania suspended its requests to stay at home and the bars and restaurants were back up and running, Brink said, the number of cases “skyrocketed. It went up 10 times. It left us struggling. “
Since the pandemic began, Brink said there had been 11 “outbreaks” traced to restaurants in Allegheny County. Eight of them, she said, were in the month of June. The others occurred in October and November.
Brink did not identify the restaurants in his testimony, but confirmed that Crack’d Egg was not among them.
Parker continued to ask, “If a company is operating illegally, would you expect people to admit that they are going to it?”
Brind replied, “I didn’t expect that. Many people turn off our case investigators. “
There are fewer outbreaks attributed to other companies – such as large stores with high ceilings – because customers are “on the move all the time,” said Brink.
“You are not in a static position for a long period of time,” she said. “Sitting very close to someone poses a risk of transmission.”
Still, Brink said he was not advocating closing everything. “It is a miserable situation for everyone,” she said.
During the hearing, Amanda Mator, operations manager for the health department’s food safety program, said Crack’d Egg would be allowed to reopen if the restaurant presented a covid-19 prevention plan, showing how it would comply with mitigation of the governor.
“What legal authority do you have to demand an ambitious prevention plan for anyone?” Cooney asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
So Mator went on, citing Article 3, Food Security Rules and Regulations for Allegheny County. According to Article 3, a restaurant cannot operate without a county health permit.
“Only people who comply with all applicable department rules and regulations, state and federal laws, will have the right to receive and retain such a license,” says the document.
While the case against Crack’d Egg was pending, Mator said he felt threatened when his name and home address were posted on social media in connection with the crackdown.
“The post asked if anyone would like to show up at my door,” said Mator.
She reported the incident to the FBI and submitted a report to the police.
Paula Reed Ward is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Paula by email [email protected] or via Twitter .
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