KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A member of the Knox County Board of Health (BOH) is proposing a curfew for bars instead of a complete closure to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, the BOH voted to close bars in Knox County for two weeks. The only member that voted against the proposal was Knox Co. Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
The order applied to businesses that got more than fifty percent of their profits from alcohol sales.
Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said Tuesday it is the Knox County Health Department's responsibility -- not the sheriff's office -- to regulate and enforce the ordinance, saying citizens should direct non-compliance complaints to KCHD. Spangler has kept a similar stance on mask enforcement, citing questions over the constitutionality of such mandates.
A lot of businesses and patrons are not in support of this closure.
Some, like The Casual Pint, are openly defying the board's order by staying open.
Others, like Token Game Tavern, are finding loopholes in the board's definition of a bar.
"In the regulation there's no definition of date range," said co-owner of Token Game Tavern Chris Barry. "It doesn't say if you have to look backwards or if it can be looking forward, that part was just undefined."
They argued since from January 1 to February 29 only 37.7% of their profit was from alcohol sales, they could remain open.
This work may have been a moot point if one board member's new proposal is accepted.
Dr. Patrick O'Brien has proposed a change to the order that he wants to bring before the BOH at its next meeting on Wednesday.
"Based on the current data showing community spread has not been located in bars and restaurants as a primary source, I offer an amendment to Knox County Board of Health Regulation No. 2020-3 that amends sections 4 and 11 with the addition of "at 10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time daily," he wrote in an email requesting a change to the meeting agenda.
That would essentially allow bars to remain open until 10 p.m. every day, keeping them from having to shut down completely.
Barry said he'd be happy to abide by a nightly curfew.
"We're not in agreement with the closure but we also felt like that was a good, effective alternative that we're in complete support of," he said.
Mayor Jacobs said he was happy to see this suggestion from Dr. O'Brien as well.
"We have received a lot of feedback from the community since last week’s meeting that the Bar Order unfairly places the burden of mitigating COVID on the backs of a specific group of business owners. That’s was why I voted against it in the first place," he said in a statement.
He said this adjustment would be a good compromise because it allows those businesses to continue to operate and keeps both the economy operating and helps keep the community safe.
"A lot of people have tried to make this political and forced people to take a side, but the reality is we have to look at all angles and this proposal is something that does that,” Jacobs said.
Barry is open to any compromise that lets businesses thrive.
"It also gives every single one of the businesses, all of the bars, all of the restaurants a chance to continue and operate in a safe way," he said.
The next Board of Health meeting is on Wednesday, August 5, at 5 p.m. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom but there will be a public comment opportunity from the City-County Building that people can sign up for and attend.