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Allegheny County’s chief epidemiologist said Wednesday that restaurants operating at full capacity and without masks during the covid-19 pandemic posed “absolutely” a risk to the community.
LuAnn Brink, who is also deputy director of the county health department, was the first witness called to a hearing regarding the Crack’d Egg closure. 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 employees 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 about fighting tyranny and spoke at a rally in Harrisburg in September.
In an opening statement, his attorney, James Cooney, said there was no evidence that the governor’s covid mitigation orders were effective and further that there was no legal authority to them.
The hearing, before Common Plea Judge John McVay, is scheduled to continue until Friday. He will resume on Thursday morning with Dr Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County health department, speaking.
Brink, who spent much of the day testifying, said that while there was some confusion at the start of the pandemic over the effectiveness of the masks, they have since been shown to be effective.
“To me it makes biological sense,” she says.
Brink noted that the masks have been shown to be effective for hundreds of years in capturing droplets that transmit disease. Public health officials have recommended simple sheet masks to prevent the wearer from spreading the disease.
“There is a body of literature that talks about the rate of reproduction of the virus,” she says. “Studies have shown a seven-fold reduction in transmission in areas using masks.”
Brink said she was not aware of any disputes on this point in the epidemiological community.
“If you wear a mask, you control the number of viral particles you expel,” she says. “The number is less. There are fewer droplets. Viral particles are less numerous 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?” County District Attorney Michael Parker asked.
“Absolutely,” Brink replied.
She said restaurants operating at full capacity and without mask requirements pose a risk to the community.
Regarding social distancing requirements, Brink said observations from local health officials showed closures and physical distancing helped reduce the number of cases in the spring.
But, when Pennsylvania lifted its stay-at-home orders and bars and restaurants reopened, Brink said, the number of cases “exploded. It was multiplied by 10. That left us confused.
Since the start of the pandemic, Brink said there have been 11 “outbreaks” attributable to restaurants in Allegheny County. Eight of them, she said, were in June. The others took place in October and November.
Brink did not identify the restaurants in his testimony, but confirmed that Crack’d Egg was not one of them.
Parker went on to ask, “If a business is operating illegally, would you expect people to admit to having visited that business?”
Brind replied, “I wouldn’t expect that. A lot of people hang up on our investigators. “
There are fewer outbreaks from other businesses – like big box stores with high ceilings – because customers are “on the move all the time,” Brink said.
“You are not in a static position for an extended period of time,” she says. “Sitting close enough to someone presents a risk of transmission.”
Still, Brink said she wasn’t advocating shutting everything down. “It’s a miserable situation for everyone,” she said.
During the hearing, Amanda Mator, operations manager for the health department’s food safety program, said the Crack’d Egg would be allowed to reopen if the restaurant submits a covid-19 prevention plan, showing how he would comply with the governor’s mitigation orders. .
“What legal authority do you have to demand a covid prevention plan for anyone?” Cooney asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Then Mator went on to quote Article 3, Food Safety Rules and Regulations for Allegheny County. Under section 3, a restaurant cannot operate without a county health permit.
“Only persons who comply with all applicable department rules and regulations, state and federal laws are entitled to receive and retain such a permit,” he said.
During the hanging of the Crack’d Egg case, Mator said she felt threatened when her name and home address were posted on social media in relation to the enforcement action.
“The message asked if anyone would like to come to my door,” Mator said.
She reported the incident to the FBI and filed a police report.
Paula Reed Ward is the editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Paula by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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