Will County health officials say several people who attended a private dance with hundreds of students and chaperones in northwest Indiana last week tested positive for COVID-19, issuing a stern warning against holding similar events in the future as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Speaking to several Frankfort area residents who tested positive for coronavirus, the Will County Health Department said in a statement Thursday that the contact trackers “discovered a similar story.”
“They had attended a garden party in Hobart, Indiana, perhaps designed as a substitute for lost proms at area high schools,” the statement read.
Authorities said as many as 270 people, both high school students and chaperones, attended the event. Illinois’ current phase of its reopening plan allows meetings of up to 50 people, while Indiana’s size limit on meetings is 250 people.
Organizers said it was for Lincoln Way East High School students, and that masks were provided to all who attended, with proceeds generated from an online campaign and ticket sales.
“We spaced the tables, reduced the number of people who could sit at the tables, and reduced the number of people we could have at the event,” said Caeelin Flaherty, a student organizer.
The Will County Health Department did not specify how many people had tested positive, or how many people had contacted contact trackers after the event, but epidemiologist Alpesh Patel urged anyone who attended the event to do “the right thing.”
“If you have symptoms (such as commonly recognized fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, sore throat), you need to immediately isolate yourself and get tested,” Patel said. “If you have no symptoms, but attended this event, you absolutely need to be quarantined for 14 days and self-monitor for symptoms, including taking a temperature at least three times a day.”
Patel also cautioned that the event should be taken as a “serious lesson” to follow the guidance of health experts.
“We have people who find their way to events, out of town or out of state, where important precautions are not observed. It is necessary to avoid any meeting in which social distancing cannot be practiced because it is simply impossible and a protection proper, such as wearing masks, is ignored, “Patel said.
“We continue to tell people NOT to WELCOME these types of events, and that parents should be more careful in allowing their children to attend such events. Parents should be on the lookout for flaws in good judgment, especially at times like this, “the statement continued.
Will County health officials noted that Illinois Region 7, one of the 11 into which the state is divided to allow a more specific approach to the response to coronavirus and possible mitigations, showed an increase of seven days in the positivity rate in tests from Thursday.
That region includes Will and Kankakee counties. Will County Health Department Director Sue Olenek said the increase serves as an indication that residents “should be on alert and observe the precautions that have been discussed since the start of the pandemic” to curb the spread of the virus and avoid further restrictions on business and activities.
“We all need to do our part and pay attention to precautions if we want to see better results,” said Olenek. “When socialization and congregation began to pick up around July 4, people began to relax and forget about observing social distancing and being completely masked in public. If we don’t want to go back to the” stay home “order, we should follow these precautions seriously at all times. “
Some parents in the Frankfort area said earlier in the week that they were concerned about an apparent increase in cases of coronavirus and illness among teens in the days following the event.
“When you bring so many people together, even if you’re socially estranged, you’re taking a risk,” said Kristin Eaton, mother of a Lincoln Way East student.
Eaton says her son was called to work this week because four other teens, his co-workers, had to be suspended from work because they were being quarantined. She added that photos on social media showed that some at the prom were not wearing masks and were not distancing themselves socially, despite the insistence of the organizers that they insisted on asking attendees to follow the rules.
“We try to do everything correctly for CDC guidelines and Indiana state guidelines,” said Flaherty.
Dr. Sital Bhargava said that any child potentially exposed to COVID-19 could now also expose others to the virus, adding that attending an event in another state with different restrictions is not helpful in stopping the spread. of the virus.
“I don’t think they could have had so many children and done it safely,” said Bhargava. “I think it had to be smaller groups.”
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