Eight COVID-19 cases linked to local brewery. Get tested if you were there, officials say
Health officials say they’ve linked eight coronavirus cases to a brewery in downtown Kannapolis.
Anyone who visited Old Armor Beer Company in the past two weeks should monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and those customers should consider getting a COVID-19 test, Cabarrus County Health Alliance officials said Friday.
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
“The complicated thing about COVID-19 is that people may have no idea they are positive for days before any symptoms appear,” Bonnie Coyle, Cabarrus County’s public health director, said in a news release.
“With eight confirmed cases within a 14-day window that all identified attending the brewery, public health officials have the responsibility to make the community aware,” Coyle said.
Old Armor Beer Co.’s management said the brewery is following “appropriate safety procedures related to restaurant capacity, cleaning and disinfecting, requiring staff and patrons to wear masks, and table spacing to ensure social distancing,” according to the release by the Health Alliance, the county’s public health authority.
Brewery management also told health officials they performed a deep cleaning and encouraged all staff members to get tested, monitor symptoms and comply with COVID-19 prevention guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The brewery stated that it considers the health and safety of its patrons to be of the upmost importance,” according to the Cabarrus Health Alliance statement.
COVID-19 symptoms can develop up to 14 days after exposure. Those with symptoms should self-isolate and contact their primary care provider, health officials said.
Those without a primary care provider can call the Cabarrus Health Alliance health information line at 704-920-1213.
COVID-19 testing sites and resources are listed at www.cabarrushealth.org/communitytesting.
Old Armor Beer Co. opened in February at 211 West Ave. in the 6,000-square-foot building formerly used by the Rotary Club of Kannapolis. The brewery was the first business to open in downtown since the city started a $113 million revitalization plan five years ago, the Observer previously reported.
Brewery owners Kyle Lingafelt, Stefan Perrine and Richard Bradley drew from their military experience — two Marines and an Army paratrooper who served in Afghanistan — to help other veterans.
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 9:24 AM.