Columbia restaurant disputes health department’s claims in alert

COLUMBIA, Mo.

A co-owner of a Columbia restaurant says his restaurant has been following social distancing guidelines after the health department issued a warning for patrons about possible COVID-19 exposure.

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services said in a news release that patrons at Room 38, 38 N. Eighth St., in downtown Columbia could have been exposed between June 22 and June 25.

The alert went on to say "the possible exposure resulted from crowded conditions and an inability to identify all possible close contacts."

Scott Clardy, the assistant director of the health department, confirmed the case involved at least one patron of the restaurant and not employees. He could not confirm if more than one infected customer went to the establishment.

Billy Giordano, the co-owner of Room 38, said he took issue with the claim there were crowded conditions. He said they have been following social distancing guidelines by assigning seats and following the rules set by the city.

"We've been doing everything we can to keep everybody safe and abiding by the guidelines as much as we can," Giordano said. "We take this very seriously and we want the public to know we take this very seriously."

Clardy said the department stands by the news release, saying he has to go with what the patient or patients reported to him about the conditions inside the restaurant. Clardy and Giordano had a conversation about the issue Thursday night, and both told ABC17 News the conflict has not been resolved.

"I told him he was free to disagree if he wanted to," Clardy said. "I explained to him that we were still going to go with what the case or cases told us."

While Giordano agrees that the department should warn people who were potentially exposed, he is worried the wording of the release will have an impact on the reputation of the establishment.

"Based on the public perspective, and perspective is key, it's kind of a death sentence and it seems unfair, it seems unjustified," Giordano said. "To say that we are not holding our end of the deal up and to say that we are negligent only makes it look like we didn't do our part, and no one is going to want to patronize an establishment that doesn't do that."

Giordano said they have advised all employees who were there during that time to get tested.

People who were at Room 38 on those days are advised to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea 

Anyone with symptoms should isolate themselves pending a COVID-19 test, officials said.