Residents line up for COVID-19 testing at Pritzker College Prep High School in the Hermosa neighborhood on November 30, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images
A local bar in a rural Illinois county in early February has been linked to at least 46 new cases of coronavirus and a school closure that has affected 650 children, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. .
The number of cases per capita in the county has doubled as a result of the opening of the bar, CDC said. Prior to the event, the county had an average of up to 42 cases per 100,000 people over seven days. On average, this daily case doubled to 14 days after opening, the CDC said.
The case, highlighted in a research paper released on Monday, provides more evidence of how weddings and meetings at restaurants and nightclubs have the potential to become super-widespread events for Covid-19.
Following the routine investigation of the cases, local health officials identified a group of cases involving a handful of people at the opening of the indoor bar, including a participant who had been diagnosed with asymptomatic Covid-19 the day before and still left. Four people who showed symptoms and subsequently tested positive for the virus were also there that night.
“These findings show that opening settings such as bars, where wearing a mask and physical distance are challenging, can increase the risk of community transmission,” the CDC said.
A participant in the bar who subsequently gave positive results identified 26 close contacts he had while attending school for indoor sports or personal training. Also, two sports students gave positive results, which led local officials to close the school district after more than a dozen staff members were potentially exposed.
Another participant at the bar worked at a long-term care unit, where a staff member and two residents were identified as positive a few days after the event. At least one resident was hospitalized before being released on the same day. None were vaccinated.
As of Feb. 26, 12 people from eight different homes who were in contact with people at the bar that night tested positive for Covid-19, including five school-age children, according to the study. None were hospitalized.
“This investigation further demonstrates that inconsistent mask use and inadequate physical distance in an indoor environment can increase the risk of transmission,” the CDC wrote. “[Covid-19] the transmission that comes from a business, such as a bar, not only affects the bar’s customers and employees, but can also affect an entire community. “
The CDC said the findings are subject to at least four limitations. First, the interviews were voluntary and many community members did not provide complete information, so the number of cases reported in the study is probably lower than the actual number of cases.
It was also likely that not all asymptomatic cases would be counted and not all contacts would be tested. Information about individual behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing, was not collected from people with positive results. Finally, specimens were not available for whole genome sequencing, therefore it could not be determined whether Covid strain variants were to blame for increased transmission.
The CDC says a multi-component approach should be implemented, such as the correct application of mask clothing, social distancing, reduced indoor capacity, adequate ventilation and contact tracking to prevent the virus from spreading before opening settings such as bars and restaurants.