At least 160 Clinton County residents asked to quarantine after gatherings without masks
The Clinton County Health Department has asked at least 160 residents to quarantine after large gatherings where people did not wear face masks, according to agency officials.
Sean Eifert, the health department administrator, said people infected with the virus traveled to bars and other businesses the weekend of Saturday, July 11, but he declined to publicly identify the locations.
The health department believes it tracked down all residents who had “close contact” with the infected people at the gatherings, according to agency spokeswoman Louise McMinn. She said close contact is being within 6 feet for 15 minutes.
The coronavirus can spread when people cough, sneeze or talk, which is why experts recommend face coverings like masks. The novel virus causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.
The 160 Clinton County residents who were asked to quarantine, and encouraged to get tested, had close contacts with infected people, McMinn said.
For other patrons who visited the same places as the 160 people, the risk for infection is low, but not zero, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“If you have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 but not in close contact, you can continue to go to work and school but should monitor your health for 14 days and stay away from others if you get sick,” Department of Public Health guidance states.
When the Clinton County Health Department announced Friday that the large gatherings happened, it said “hundreds” of people were exposed to the virus during the events. Eifert, the administrator, reiterated that point in an interview Monday.
“I don’t know that we understand the full extent of the exposure,” he said. “... They were all over, but the incubation period (the time from exposure to development of symptoms) can take up to 14 days, so we still don’t know.”
To date, one person who was infected but did not know it passed the virus to two close contacts who were at the gatherings, according to Eifert. He said the pair tested positive, as well as a close contact of one of the two; their close contact was not at the gatherings.
Eifert said the health department is not publicly identifying the places where the exposure occurred at this time because of the potential “economic fallout” for businesses associated with the coronavirus and liability for the health department. He said the department may decide to name the businesses if customers or workers outside of the “close contact” group test positive.
Consequences of COVID exposure at local, regional levels
The health department said in its announcement Friday that the region could face restrictions again at places like bars and restaurants if the recent exposure leads to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Illinois health officials are watching statistics like the rate of new diagnoses to determine whether areas of the state should reinstate restrictions.
Clinton County is part of the newly-announced metro-east region that includes St. Clair and Madison counties.
As of July 17 in the metro-east, an average of 7.1% of the coronavirus tests performed in the past week were positive.
The percentage of positive tests increased for seven out of the 10 days between July 8 and July 17. If there had also been a decline in hospital resources, the metro-east would have already met criteria for restrictions. Both an increase in diagnoses and a decrease in resources can lead to restrictions.
There could also be restrictions if 8% or more of the region’s coronavirus tests are positive for three consecutive days.
The public can track the statistics that will determine whether the metro-east will see restrictions again at dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics.
Event organizers can face consequences when they do not follow safety measures, like requiring masks, and people are exposed to the coronavirus, according to Eifert.
“There are consequences in terms of potential civic liability, the loss of liquor license or other action a State of Illinois agency may take,” Eifert wrote via email to the Belleville News-Democrat.
He said the health department’s role is largely to educate people about the safety measures. He did not know if the people or businesses involved in the recent large gatherings in Clinton County would face consequences.
