Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky cited a new report showing that one bar reopening led to dozens of new COVID-19 cases as a reason for social distancing.
“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. … And it emphasizes the impressive transmissibility of this virus and the continued need for layered prevention strategies,” Walensky said.
CDC DIRECTOR CITES SENSE OF ‘IMPENDING DOOM’ OVER PANDEMIC TRAJECTORY
The CDC report published Monday found that an indoor bar reopening event in a rural Illinois county led to 46 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including cases in 26 bar patrons and three staff members who attended the opening event, as well as 17 secondary cases in people who were not at the event. Three residents of a long-term care facility were among those infected who did not attend the reopening.
“People who attended the event reported that mask use was inconsistent and that 6 feet of distance was not maintained,” Walensky said.
Cases of COVID-19 have risen since mid-March, primarily among younger adults who generally experience milder illness with a reduced chance of dying. CDC tracking shows that the majority of new confirmed coronavirus cases since late February have been among adults ages 18 to 54. Deaths among seniors over 65 have also maintained a steady decline since early January, indicating that the federal government’s efforts to ramp up vaccinations have paid off.
Still, Walensky shared her sense of “impending doom” last week about another surge in cases and hospitalizations due to highly transmissible mutations of the coronavirus circulating around the United States.
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She assured reporters of her confidence on Monday “that widespread vaccination will bring us to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic” and said that maintaining mitigation efforts such as physical distancing and mask use are crucial until the majority of U.S. adults are immunized.
To date, 106 million U.S. adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. That’s more than 41% of the adult population, according to tracking by Bloomberg. The daily vaccination rate has reached about 3 million shots per day, putting the U.S. on track to vaccinating 75% of adults in about three months.
