A bar opening event in rural Illinois in February related to 46 cases of Covid-19, a school closure that affected 650 children and the hospitalization of a long-term facility resident , according to the morbidity and mortality of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. Weekly report Monday.
The Illinois Department of Public Health identified 29 individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 or had Covid-19-like symptoms within 14 days of the event. All 29 cases were confirmed by Covid-19 antigen or nucleic acid amplification tests, except for one probable symptomatic case that received no tests.
These bar attendees had close contact with at least 71 other people. Of the 37 close contacts tested by Covid-19, 17 tested positive in the 14 days following contact.
Two of Covid-19’s secondary cases were sports students in close contact with a bar attendant with Covid-19 who attended indoor sports practices and face-to-face classes. The school district closed two weeks from Feb. 18 after 13 staff members were unable to work due to isolation, quarantine or their quarantined child.
Three of Covid-19’s secondary cases were residents of long-term care centers in close contact with a bar attendant who worked as a certified nursing assistant. The nurse tested positive for Covid-19 four days after the bar opened. One of these secondary cases of Covid-19 was hospitalized 14 days after the positive test result and was discharged the same day.
Two weeks after the event, the average daily incidence of Covid-19 for seven days in the county doubled to at least 86 cases per 100,000 people, according to the report.
“Bars may play a role in the community outreach of COVID-19 due to the limited use of masks during eating or drinking and the lack of constant physical distancing,” the authors wrote in the report. companies such as a bar not only affect the owners and employees of the bar, but can also affect an entire community. “
The event was held indoors with no outside airflow. Attendees cited inconsistent mask use and neglect of six-foot physical distance guidelines. Although the total number of people who attended the event is unknown, the bar has a capacity for about 100 people.
The high percentage of symptomatic people linked to the event, 82.6%, as well as the reluctance of many people to disclose contacts suggest that the actual case count was higher than found, according to the CDC report. .
“As community businesses begin to open up, these findings underscore the importance of businesses and individuals adhering to public health prevention and mitigation guidelines to reduce additional community transmission, including isolation after to receive a diagnosis of COVID-19 and while experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms, even as vaccination efforts expand, ”the authors wrote.