Philly Establishment Cited For Coronavirus Guideline Violations

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia establishment was cited for violating coronavirus mitigation efforts by Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers recently, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Officers visited 419 Philadelphia establishments with liquor licenses Monday and Tuesday this week to ensure compliance with coronavirus mitigation requirements.

These requirements include social distancing, masking, and other health and safety requirements of the liquor code.

While officers issued four warnings to establishments, one was cited.

Pennsylvania State Police told Patch due to the civil nature of the citation and an ongoing investigation, details such as the establishment's name and its violation were not available.

That being said, some possible reasons for being cited include not requiring customers to wear masks while entering, exiting or otherwise traveling throughout the restaurant or retail food service business; not required employees to wear masks; not providing at least 6 feet between parties at tables or physical barriers between customers where booths are arranged back to back; and not ensuring maximum occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor areas are posted and enforced.

As mandated by the liquor code, a notice of violation precedes the issuance of an administrative citation and is intended to provide licensed liquor establishments notification of the nature of violations found.

In total, officers issued 26 warnings after visiting 1,650 licensed establishments across Pennsylvania Monday and Tuesday.

These compliance checks are unannounced and can happen anywhere in the commonwealth, although the focus is on areas experiencing higher coronavirus transmission rates, such as Philadelphia.

Complaints regarding licensees not complying with coronavirus mitigation mandates can be made by calling at 1-800-932-0602 or online here.