- A February bar opening in rural illinois led to at least 46 COVID-19 cases and a hospitalization.
- It also was linked to a school closure affecting 650 children.
- The case demonstrates the importance of mitigation measures as venues continue to reopen.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A February bar opening in rural Illinois led to at least 46 COVID-19 cases, a school closure affecting 650 children, and the hospitalization of one long-term care facility resident, according to a Monday report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One attendee had tested positive for COVID-19 the day before the event, but didn't have symptoms. Four others had COVID-19 symptoms the same day they showed up.
Despite spaced out tables and signs encouraging distancing and mask use, patrons didn't consistently wear masks or maintain physical distance. The indoor venue that could accomodate 100 people also didn't have any outdoor air flow, the CDC reported.
The report "describes what can happen when we do not follow proper mitigation strategies when everyone is not fully vaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a media briefing Monday.
Cases spread throughout the community
Local health department officials first traced a cluster of cases to the bar event, which was mostly attended by 18- to 44-year-old white men.
The state's public health department investigated further, finding 46 cases linked to the event, including 26 bar-goers and three staffers. One infected person had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Infected attendees then seemed to transmit the virus to at least 17 other people in the community. Because 12 of them lived in households with kids, including two in homes with kids on a sports team, a local school with 650 children had to close, leading to 9,100 lost days of in-person schooling.
One attendee worked as a nursing assistant at a long-term care facility, and tested positive for COVID-19 four days after the event. As a result, one other facility staffer and two residents were infected, and one resident wound up in the hospital with COVID-19 for a day. All of the infected staffers or residents had previously turned down a coronavirus vaccine.
CDC director: This event shows "the impressive transmissibility of this virus"
The event also seemed to affect the community's COVID-19 rates more generally, with the seven-day average of daily incidence more than doubling in the two weeks afterwards.
The study authors said even more people were likely infected from the event in part because interviews with public health officials were voluntary, and many community members involved didn't want to share details about who they'd been in contact with.
"As we work to get more people vaccinated and as community businesses begin to reopen, these findings underscore the vast impact of a single event, affecting communities, schools, families, and fragile elderly," Walensky said.
"It emphasizes the impressive transmissibility of this virus and the continued need for layered prevention strategies including reducing the number of people indoors, improving building ventilation, and utilizing outdoor spaces as the weather allows."
