UPDATED: Douglas County Bar Linked to COVID-19 Outbreak
The interior of The Embarras bar in Villa Grove, which the CDC linked to a 46-person COVID-19 outbreak in February.
A bar in the tiny community of Villa Grove along the Indiana line in Central Illinois has been linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in February.
A new CDC report Monday says an “opening event” in February at a bar with an occupancy of 100 people. Contact tracing showed 46 people contracted COVID-19 as a result of the event. The Illinois Department of Public Health would only say the bar was located in Douglas County, but The Illinoize has learned the venue was The Embarras in Villa Grove. The Embarras (pronounced em-BRAW) River runs through Villa Grove.
According to the CDC report, (UPDATE 8:05 P.M) four people with cases had COVID-19–like symptoms on the same day they attended the event:
The event had occurred indoors, with no outside air flow, approximately 2 weeks earlier in a 2,800-sq-ft bar during normal operating hours (4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.). Six employees staffed the bar. Although the total number of bar patrons who attended the event is unknown, the bar accommodates approximately 100 persons. Before the event, IDPH reported a 7-day average daily COVID-19 incidence of 41–42 cases per 100,000 persons in the county; 14 days after the event, the 7-day average daily incidence had more than doubled, to 86–87 cases per 100,000 persons (2). On February 12, through routine testing and contact tracing, local health department staff members identified a cluster of cases linked to the bar event, including a case in an asymptomatic attendee who received a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis the day before the event.
A bar attendee case was defined as the onset of COVID-19–like symptoms or receipt of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result within 14 days of the bar opening event in a bar patron or employee who reported attending the event and who had no previous identified epidemiologic link to a COVID-19 case outside that setting. A confirmed case was defined as receipt of a positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or antigen test result by a person who attended the event, and a probable case was defined as COVID-19–like symptoms in a person who attended the event but had no laboratory confirmation of infection.† A secondary case was defined as receipt of a positive SARS-CoV-2 NAAT or antigen test result by a close contact of a person with event-associated COVID-19.§
In a statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the agency says outbreaks aren’t limited to people who are in a bar or restaurant.
“This situation shows that transmission originating in a business such as a bar not only affects the patrons and employees of the bar, but the entire community. Bars play a role in the spread of COVID-19 in communities because of limited mask use while eating and drinking, especially when physical distancing is not observed. To reduce risk of similar outbreaks, bars can use prevention measures like reducing patron capacity, ensuring adequate room air ventilation, prioritizing outdoor seating, and enforcing correct mask wearing and physical distancing. If you visit a bar or restaurant, it’s important to take steps to reduce your risk for COVID-19, such as wearing a mask in public, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands often.”
The owners of the facility have not returned a message from The Illinoize.
UPDATE (4:51 P.M.):
The Embarras owner Ryan Garrett denied their event was the source of the outbreak:
I can assure you that our bar was not responsible for a Covid outbreak. No one that owns or works at this bar transmitted Covid to anyone. We opened our doors for the first time, since purchasing the business in August 2020, on February 5, 2021. We opened within the guidelines set forth in the phase 4 revitalization order. We had approximately 30-40 people in our bar, which consists of 2 large rooms that were allowed to occupy 50 people per room under the guideline. Clear signage that encouraged social distancing, mask wearing, and occupancy limits were posted on all entrances. Disposable masks and hand sanitizer were readily available to the patrons.
The people that were here on opening night are mostly all friends/acquaintances with each other. Most all of these people were also present together at other businesses, athletic events, etc. around the same time.
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