According to a new study, an indoor bar opening event in rural Illinois in February was related to 46 cases of COVID-19, which highlighted the dangers of indoor gatherings in places like bars.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that the event was related to 26 COVID-19 cases in bar opening patterns and three in bar staff, who then spread the virus to 17 more people who were not at the opening of the bar, known as “secondary cases.”
The study found that it showed the effects an event can have, these side cases included 12 people in eight households with children, two in a school sports team and three in a residence. As a result of the outbreak, a school serving 650 students was closed and a resident of the nursing home was hospitalized.
The results serve as a warning, as many states lift restrictions on bars and other businesses. Illinois recently delayed a new reopening step as hospitalizations increased, but bars and restaurants are currently open with capacity limits.
“These findings show that opening parameters such as bars, where mask wear and physical distancing are difficult, can increase the risk of community transmission,” the study states.
The CDC recommended a number of measures to help reduce risk in environments such as bars, including reducing occupancy, space for people at a minimum distance of 6 feet, improved ventilation, and an emphasis on the outer seats, which is significantly safer.
The virus was introduced to the nursing home through a bar event attendee who worked at the residence and was asymptomatic, prompting an additional staff member and two residents to become infected. None of the four were vaccinated, although the vaccine had previously been offered to all staff and residents of the residence, according to the study, which appears to highlight the problem of hesitation.
The study also shows the importance of staying home when you are sick or when you are diagnosed with COVID-19. According to the study, one of the attendees at the bar event, who was asymptomatic, had been diagnosed with COVID-19 the day before the event. Four other people had symptoms while attending the event and were then diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the study.
The bar had a capacity of about 100 people, although it is unclear how many people attended the event, according to the study. Attendees did not keep their distance from each other, had “inconsistent” use of the mask and there was “no outside airflow”.
The level of coronavirus spread to rural Illinois County, which was not identified, more than doubled after the event, from about 41 cases per 100,000 people to about 86 cases per 100,000, according to the study.
For a long time, indoor bars and restaurants have been seen as risk factors for spreading COVID-19, as they bring people together indoors in close contact and it is difficult to wear a mask when eating. and he drinks.
“Similar meetings involving eating or drinking, such as eating at restaurants, weddings, and nightclubs, have been associated with an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19 and have the potential to become widespread events,” he found. ‘study. .