coronavirus illinois

Arwady: Pool Party Resulted in at Least 19 Cases of Coronavirus

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Dr. Allison Arwady is encouraging Chicago residents to continue to use precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and she used a recent story of a COVID-19 cluster to illustrate how quickly the virus can spread.

Arwady, the director of the Chicago Department of Health, cited an example of a recent pool party that ultimately resulted in 19 individuals contracting the coronavirus.

According to Arwady, the cluster has been linked to a social gathering that took place at a pool party. Beginning four days after the pool party and running through the next week, a total of 13 people who had attended the party ended up testing positive for the virus, with another six individuals testing positive after coming into contact with those who attended the event.

Even though the size of the cluster is noteworthy, Arwady insists that this type of spread of the virus is not uncommon.

“This is not a dramatic example,” she said. “This is the sort of thing that we are regularly seeing.”

To help combat these COVID clusters, Arwady says the department is continuing to work with its pediatrics team to help identify clusters among younger Chicago residents, particularly as some schools in the city and surrounding areas begin to hold in-person instruction.

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