Coronavirus Cluster: Phoenix restaurants hit with infections

June 16, 2020

NBC News,

(KPNX/NBC News) A cluster of coronavirus cases is breaking out in restaurants in Phoenix, Arizona’s Arcadia neighborhood.

Zipps Sports Grill on Indian School Road announced in a statement Sunday that it just had its first positive COVID-19 test result.

Employees say the restaurant’s management knew about the positive case since last Tuesday, and since then, four others have tested positive.

Zipps has said it would not require employees to wear masks or gloves prior to opening dine-in service, stating “If you are uncomfortable due to our staff not wearing masks/gloves, we understand and respect that. This isn’t the time to argue or complain about our differences; this is a time to exercise personal freedoms.”

Zipps’ maskless and gloveless reopening was even celebrated on the “Great 48” Facebook page devoted to rejecting coronavirus safeguards.

Health experts say that’s exactly the wrong approach.

“Surfaces matter, disinfection matters, but airborne transmission is dominant,” Arizona Public Health Association Director Will Humble says in regard to masks.

Zipps is not the Phoenix business to announce positive cases from employees. At least three others nearby have reported infections.