INDIANAPOLIS — One barbershop, six restaurants, three gas stations and a racetrack have been cited by the Marion County Public Health department for violating the public health order that requires face coverings for employees and customers.
The Corner Bar, 5506 S. Meridian St., is one of the restaurants facing a $1,000 fine. The owner of the bar, Donna Coffey, told News 8 on Tuesday via FaceTime, “We have been ahead of the game the whole time with ordering Corner Bar masks before the mask mandate. We did admit that not all of my people wore mask 100% of the time outside when it was 90 degrees, that was when they were running from inside to outside in the yard. I didn’t let anyone in the building when we did our outdoor yard parties.”
Violators of the Marion County public health order are first cited and allowed to make corrections. If the corrections are not made, the business owner is summoned to court.
Coffey said county health inspectors cited her business at least three times for violations related the public health order.
“One of my girls did not have a mask on. They call me up here, and I talked to her, so they wrote us a mask violation,” Coffey said.
The second violation was for having live music, and the third one was for having more people on or in the property than allowed.
The public health order has restricted the number of people allowed inside bars, restaurants and other businesses. She recently expanded the outdoor dining area to make up the difference. This summer, she offered live music on the lawn, kept the tables separated, and didn’t allow people inside the building. She said she has turned people away for not having proper face coverings.
“In the summer, we had people that were mean and calling us names and refusing, and the order said we were not supposed to put ourselves in a situation to be yelled at,” Coffey said.
Coffey said none of her staff has tested positive for the virus, but at least two of her customers have. She required them to provide a negative test before coming back to the establishment.
She has already been to one hearing for the violations and is scheduled to appear again in December. She said she will pay the $1,000 fine and move on.
The Indiana State Department of Health said Wednesday that 6,143 more Hoosiers have tested positive from Nov. 9 through Tuesday. Also, 60 more Hoosiers died as a result of the virus, bringing the state’s total to 4,830.
