SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – It’s that time of year again where college students are slowly moving back to campus.

But it comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and health leaders are concerned that college nightlife could add to a spike in coronavirus cases.

“This right now is our busy season once the college lets back in,” said Dylan Allen, general manager of Bair’s Sports Grill.

Allen says they’ve already been following local health officials guidelines and will continue to do so.

“We are ready for the lines out the door, we will just feed as many people as we can in here at one time, and then take it from there,” said Allen.

As for bars closer to the square, leaders with the Downtown Association say they will make sure the 20 clubs and pubs they work with are following safety protocols.

“We are encouraging them to use more outside spaces so you have seen the expansion of sidewalk cafes and we want to continue to see that grow and build,” said Rusty Worly, Executive Director.

But Springfield-Greene County Health Director Clay Goddard is reminding everyone of the city’s mask ordinance, warning that unmasked crowds are the perfect recipe for this virus to spread.

“Remember that there are density restrictions in place, the 50 percent of occupancy. We are expecting our establishment managers to abide by that, and we would hope our college students would wear masks when they are not eating or drinking,” said Goddard.

A rule, Allen says he will be enforcing inside the bar.

“We do have the right to refuse service to anybody, if they come in and don’t wear a mask, we do have the right to turn them away,” said Allen.

No citations have been issued for the masks yet by Springfield police, but city officials say they have gotten calls from bars with customers not complying with the ordinance.

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