Witnesses describe crowds at 2 downtown St. Louis bars ordered to close until 2022

ST. LOUIS - It's by far the longest closure related to the COVID-19 pandemic. St. Louis health officials ordered popular downtown bars Wheelhouse and Start Bar to shut down for one year for violating area health orders. “Just when you come up to the building, huge lines outside, people shoulder to shoulder. You’re trying to actually walk on the sidewalk, you can't, unless you want to be around a massive crowd of people," said one downtown resident. Health officials issued the shutdown order Tuesday with an end date of Jan. 19, 2022. According to the letter, the businesses violated the city’s orders requiring social distancing and face coverings. “If it’s a weekend when they’re open, you can't even use the front of the building. No mask, people acting a fool, not acting like we're in a pandemic, and we shouldn’t be spreading our germs,” said the resident who wished to remain anonymous. “The behaviors that got them shut down this time are behaviors that are happening pretty much every time they’re open, but people are afraid to speak out.” Read more: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/wheelhouse-start-bar-downtown-bars-ordered-close-residents-react/63-f718bcb0-6c31-40c5-871c-7c4329887b1e