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A February bar opening in rural Illinois has led to at least 46 cases of COVID-19 and hospitalization.
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It is also related to the closure of the school which affected 650 children.
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The case demonstrates the importance of mitigation measures as premises reopen.
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A bar opening in rural Illinois in February has led to at least 46 cases of COVID-19, a school closure affecting 650 children, and the hospitalization of one resident in a long-term care facility, the Centers report for Disease Control & Prevention on Monday. .
One participant tested positive for COVID-19 the day before the event but had no symptoms, while four others had COVID-19 symptoms on the day of the event, the report said.
The CDC reported that despite scattered tables and signs encouraging distance and mask use, protectors did not consistently wear masks or maintain physical distance, and that the indoor had no outdoor airflow.
The report “describes what can happen if we do not follow proper mitigation strategies if everyone is not fully vaccinated,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky told a news conference on Monday.
Cases spread across the community
Illinois Department of Health officials first located a group of cases after the bar event, which was mostly attended by 18- to 44-year-old white men. It is unclear how many people attended, but there may be 100 people accommodating.
The state health department further investigated and found 46 cases related to the event, including 26 bargoers and three staff members. An infected person received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. (A single dose provides only partial immunity, and it even takes a few weeks to reach its full effectiveness.)
Infected participants then apparently transmitted the virus to at least 17 other people in the community, including 12 who lived in households with children.
One party started experiencing a runny nose two days after the visit to the bar and then infected two student athletes who were in close contact with the participant during the indoor sports practice or personal schooling.
Eventually, because 13 staff members were in isolation, quarantined or absent because their own child was quarantined, the school, which has 650 students, had to close for two weeks, resulting in 9,100 lost days of personal schooling.
Another attendee who worked as a nursing assistant at a long-term care facility tested positive for COVID-19 four days after the event. As a result, another staff member and two residents were infected, and one resident was liquidated with COVID-19 in the hospital for a day. All infected staff or residents have previously refused a coronavirus vaccine.
CDC Director: This Opportunity Demonstrates’ The Impressive Transmission of This Virus
The event also appears to be more generally affecting the community’s COVID-19 rates, with the seven-day average daily occurrence more than doubling in the two weeks thereafter.
The authors of the study said that even more people were likely to be partially infected because interviews with public health officials were voluntary and that many involved members of the community did not want to share details with whom they were in contact. They added that the investigators probably missed some asymptomatic cases and their contacts.
“As we work to get more people vaccinated and start reopening as community businesses, these findings underscore the great impact of a single event affecting communities, schools, families and fragile seniors,” Walensky said.
She continues: ‘It emphasizes the impressive transmissibility of this virus and the continuing need for low prevention strategies, including reducing the number of people indoors, improving the ventilation of the building and the use of outdoor spaces as the weather allows. ‘
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