An outbreak of 46 coronavirus cases that originated in a rural Illinois bar led to the closure of a school and the hospitalization of a resident of a long-term care facility, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. In a report released Monday.
A total of 26 customers and three staff members who attended the bar’s opening in early February contracted COVID-19, along with 17 people who were not present at the meeting.
Those who attended reported inconsistent wearing of masks and not maintaining at least six feet of distance, despite the space between tables and signs encouraging physical distancing and wearing of masks, according to the report.
The CDC said the event occurred indoors with no outside air flow. No specific bar location was provided.
One client, who became ill with a runny nose in the days following the event, reported 26 close contacts at a school during indoor sports and in-person instruction. Two student-athletes who were close contacts of this person were diagnosed with COVID-19, authorities said.
Another person who was present at the bar worked in a long-term care facility as a certified nursing assistant, and although that person was asymptomatic, they received a positive result during routine COVID-19 tests at the facility.
Three secondary cases, a staff member and two residents, were reported at the facility in the following days, authorities said. One of those residents was hospitalized on February 20, within 14 days of the positive test result, and was discharged the same day.
By February 26, 12 people in eight different households had received positive test results, including five school-age children.
Even as vaccination efforts expand, the CDC stated that the findings underscore the importance of businesses and individuals adhering to public health prevention and mitigation guidelines to reduce community transmission.
“These findings show that transmission of SARS-CoV originating from a business such as a bar not only affects customers and employees of the bar, but can also affect an entire community,” according to the report.
Additionally, with more businesses reopening, health officials said considering additional preventative measures is important, such as limiting building occupancy levels and improving ventilation, especially in places where the use of masks and physical distancing are important. difficult to enforce.