The Lake County Health Department said in a statement Tuesday that so far 14 positive cases have been reported from people playing or watching league volleyball at Jesse Oaks Food and Drink in Lake Gage.
The medical epidemiologist of the health department, Dr. “It could have a potentially large spread, and we need people’s help to stop the spread of the virus,” said Sana Ahmed. “Since last week we have identified about 14 people from COVID-19 who have been linked to Jesse Oak in Lake Gagez.”
Dr. Ahmed said the county’s contact tracing is still counting the number of potential patients.
“At the moment we have about 200 people who may have come forward,” he said.
Lake County health officials said the confirmed CVID-19 patients were both playing and watching volleyball games, then could reunite with staff and other guardians, without a mask. That was enough to scare some customers.
“We came here and we thought everyone would have to wear a mask to get a mask. I have a 3 year old, so he also wore a mask, ”said Alexis Rivera, a customer. “It was amazing to see coworkers and people hugging and playing and pretending that nothing was happening, and I was like, ‘We have to go.’
Larry Mackie, director of the Department of Environmental Health, said Jesse Oaks had suspended voluntary volleyball for 14 days and that it could only be resumed once it followed state guidelines.
State guidelines limit volleyball to inter-team gameplay, which excludes competitive team-to-team games, Mackie said in an interview. Said in.
Health officials believe Jesse Oaks was violating those rules before the outbreak, Mackie said. The restaurant was not cited or fined.
18490 w. Old Gages Lake Rd. The restaurant has three bars, four outdoor and two indoor volleyball courts, according to its website.
Of the confirmed cases, many said they also played volleyball at other bars or restaurants, which could have spread the virus further, the health department said in a release.
The owner of Jesse Oaks said in a statement: “We have worked with the Lake County Department of Health on the outbreak. Any specific questions please refer to them. Quick recovery of infected people. Not all of our staff and their families.” Shown “Any symptoms or signs of the virus.”
An employee who answered the restaurant’s phone on Tuesday said indoor and outdoor seating is open.
As of Monday, 16,960 Lake County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, while 464 have died.
The positivity rate in Lake County has fallen below the percentage point since late August, from 5.6% on September 26 to 4.4%. However, health officials said the epidemic was one of the reasons why “epidemic fatigue” did not spread.
“People are tired of hearing so much about it and we can’t forget the fact that the virus is still spreading in our community and people are still getting sick,” Ahmed said.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report
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