'I didn't take this seriously': Tempe man gets COVID-19 after sharing drinks in bar

[Mike 03]

AZCentral
Published 8:00 AM June 24

After five hours of shoveling rocks into his family’s backyard, Jimmy Flores, 30, met up with his close friends at the bars in Old Town Scottsdale on a Saturday night in June.

“This bar was super packed. I was kind of concerned because I was like, man, everyone’s tight, they have limited cups. Some people were sharing drinks, it was weird,” said Flores, who also shared drinks with his friends that night.

The next day, Flores said his body was sore before going to bed, but he shrugged it off as being tired from working and drinking. Then, Flores woke up in the middle of the night with a temperature of 103 degrees.

"I texted my buddy and said, "I think I'm getting the flu.' He goes, 'That is scary because I am too,'" Flores told The Arizona Republic.

After testing positive for COVID-19 the week of June 8, Flores said Maricopa County Department of Public Health employees were able to trace the new coronavirus to a bar in north Scottsdale. Flores said the department asked him not to share the name of the bar.

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2020/06/24/coronavirus-arizona-tempe-man-hospitalized-covid-19-cases-ducey-reopening/3231668001/

[TreasonousBastard]

1. The next day? What about the two weeks?

[soothsayer]

4. Right! Must not have been the first time

[Kali]

2. I can totally see not wearing a mask (and I didn't for a long time)

and MAYBE going to a (not crowded) bar if I was young and invincible...but sharing drinks in a crowd???

[Buckeye_Democrat]

3. Bars.

They'll be the death of many vulnerable people who don't even visit them.

[soothsayer]

5. When the WI Supreme Court let businesses open too soon

Where did people run to?

Bars!

Soooo much cheaper to drink at home, I just don’t get it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

6. Me neither, but I've worked with people who acted...

... like that was their ONLY pleasure in life. Ugh.

I had fun in some bars in the past, but there's no way that I'd want to be a "regular" in one of them. Now it's even worse with the pandemic.

[spinbaby]

7. Crowded, indoors, AND sharing drinks!

It’s like some kind of trifecta.

I wouldn’t touch an indoor bar, but well-spaced outdoor seating would be acceptable.

[lettucebe]

8. Sharing drinks? Not enough cups? That's a health violation

[ChazII]

9. Yikes! I live one mile from Old Town Scottsdale

and have a gut feeling that the 85251 and 85257 zip codes might go back into the top ten for this virus.