MONROE — For 14 years, Monroe’s Celtic Crawl has provided area beer lovers with a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but the event has sparked controversy in the community during the age of COVID-19.

Despite Green County’s “very high” COVID-19 activity level as of March 8, eight Monroe bars are set to participate in the March 13 event, just four days shy of the one-year anniversary of Wisconsin bars being forced shut.

Friendly Inn, Nett’s Sports Bar, Sinner’s Saloon, Bartel’s Tap, Flanagan’s Shenanigans, Doyle’s Irish Pub, Suisse Haus and Horseshoe Saloon are all set to participate in the event, which traditionally is one of the busiest days of the year for bar owners. With businesses being forced to close in March of 2020, an event like the Celtic Crawl gives business owners the chance to make up some of that lost revenue.  

Regardless, Green County Public Health is still recommending that people stay home, practice social distancing and wear masks in public. Events like the Celtic Crawl have the possibility of bringing in a large influx of people, which can present health risks even to those who have been vaccinated.

As the county remains in the “very high” activity level, other local businesses, including Bullquarian Brewhouse and Baumgartner’s have announced that they will be closing for the day.

“Here in Green county, we’re still seeing really concerning levels of COVID-19 disease spread,” Green County Public Health Educator Bridget Craker said. “That spread impacts the ability of businesses and schools and long-term care facilities to function properly in the ways that they need to serve our community.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released March 8 a set of guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals. The guidelines say that fully vaccinated individuals — those who are two weeks past receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two weeks past the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine — can visit other vaccinated individuals without wearing masks or physical distancing, but that precautions such as mask wearing and physical distancing should still take place in a public setting.

The guidelines also suggest that even vaccinated people avoid medium and large sized in-person gatherings.

“The CDC and Green County Public Health still recommend that even people who are fully vaccinated avoid large events like this,” Craker said. “If they do have to be around people from outside of their household it’s still recommended that they wear a mask and practice physically distancing.”

Craker recommends that those who want to get out and participate on Saturday consider Green County’s other, safer opportunities. 

“With this great weather, it would be a great time to get out and explore other areas of Green County.” Craker said.