An outbreak of coronavirus in a rural bar in Illinois resulted in at least 46 infections, hospitalized a long-term resident and likely spurred the temporary closure of a 650-student school, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC). The findings served as a warning to companies to impose the use of masks and physical distance, among other measures, as states loosen capacity restrictions.
“Opening environments like bars, where wearing masks and physical distance are challenging, can affect the community,” says the CDC report. “As community businesses reopen, preventive measures must be emphasized, including limiting the building’s occupancy, improving ventilation, prioritizing outdoor seating, imposing the correct use of the mask and physical distance, staying at home when are ill and encourage vaccination with COVID-19 to reduce transmission on site and within the community. “
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Some participants said there was “inconsistent mask use” and not enough physical distance. (iStock)
The event took place in February and was considered a celebration of the opening of the bar. Although the total number of participants is unclear, the bar can accommodate about 100 people, the health agency wrote. The Illinois Department of Public Health was alerted to the outbreak through a state reporting system and investigated the outbreak with local health officials, according to the CDC.
The study authors described the internal event as having “no external airflow” and the participants “reported inconsistent use of the mask and not keeping ≥6 feet of physical distance”. Of the 46 reported cases, 26 infections emerged among bar customers, three occurred among employees and 17 were listed as “secondary cases” or contacts who did not attend the event. Officials noted that an asymptomatic participant had a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed the day before the event.
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Of those who attended the event and were infected, only one person was vaccinated and, as that person received only one dose five days earlier, it was also positive; it takes time for the immune system to increase protection. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
One participant who contracted the virus went on to list 26 close contacts, such as sports teammates and those in face-to-face classes. Two athletes were diagnosed with COVID-19 more than a week later, and officials were also alerted to the school’s closure for two weeks on February 18 because more than a dozen team members were in isolation or quarantine, or had a quarantined family member.
In addition, a person at a long-term care facility was sent to the hospital after someone who attended the celebration and worked at the facility tested positive. The hospitalized individual was discharged on the same day, as reported. It is important to note that all residents and employees of facilities that have contracted infections have previously been offered vaccines, but none have been accepted. Three secondary cases were reported at the unit.
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The outbreak triggered the incidence of cases in the county; the document notes that the average daily incidence of 7 days doubled from around 42 cases per 100,000 people before the event, to more than 80 cases per 100,000 people two weeks after the event.
The CDC noted that the total case count is probably underestimated due to incomplete testing, and contact tracking may have missed out on some infections. Other limitations included voluntary interviews between “reluctant” members of the community and lack of data on the variants; the samples were not available for sequencing, so no association could be made about the increase in transmission at the county level and potential variants.
The CDC ended up advising companies to work with local health authorities to contain the risk of infection that could affect the community.
“Companies can work with local health authorities to promote behaviors and maintain environments that reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and develop strategies to safely reopen to prevent outbreaks in the community, such as modifying layouts and operating procedures,” they wrote. the report’s authors.