CDC provides surface cleaning guidelines to protect against Covid-19

A bar opening event in rural Illinois in February was linked to 46 cases of Covid-19, a school closure that affected 650 children, and the hospitalization of one resident of a long-term care facility, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Diseases and Deaths Weekly Report on Monday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health identified 29 individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 or Covid-19 symptoms within 14 days of the event. All 29 cases were confirmed by Covid-19 antigen or nucleic acid amplification tests, except one probable symptomatic case that was not tested.

These bartenders had close contact with at least 71 others. Of the 37 close contacts tested for Covid-19, 17 tested positive within 14 days of contact.

Two of the secondary cases Covid-19 were student athletes who were in close contact with a bartender with Covid-19 who attended indoor sports exercises and personal classes. The school district closed for two weeks from 18 February after 13 staff members were unable to work due to isolation, quarantine or their child in quarantine.

Three of the secondary cases of Covid-19 were long-term care residents in close contact with a bartender 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 admitted to the hospital within 14 days after the positive test result and discharged on the same day.

Two weeks after the event, the seven-day average daily incidence of Covid-19 in the country more than doubled to at least 86 cases per 100,000 people, according to the report.

“Bars may play a role in the spread of COVID-19 in the community due to the limited use of mask while eating or drinking and a lack of constant physical distance,” the authors wrote in the report. ‘business like a bar not only affects the customers and employees of the bar, but can also affect an entire community. ‘

The event was held indoors with no airflow to the outside. Participants cited the conflicting mask use and disregard for the six-foot physical distance guidelines. Although the total number of people who attended the event is unknown, the bar can accommodate about 100 people.

The high percentage of symptomatic people linked to the event, 82.6%, as well as the unwillingness of many people to disclose contacts, indicates that the actual number of cases was higher than found, according to the CDC report.

‘As community enterprises begin to reopen, these findings underscore the importance of enterprises and individuals adhering to public health prevention and mitigation guidelines to reduce additional community transmission, including isolation after receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis and while experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms. , even if the vaccination efforts take off, ”the authors wrote.

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