COVID-19 Patient Was at Quincy & Lima Area Parties

The Adams County Health Department has a growing concern for people who attended two separate large parties in the county as a party attendee has developed the COVID-19 disease.
The Adams County Health Department (ACHD) in a late Saturday morning news release stated that they are continuing to complete contact investigations related to this COVID-19 disease management case.  The complete news release is listed below and highlights there concern for the people who attended two separate parties that took place recently.

NEWS RELEASE:

During the course of a recent contact investigation, the ACHD became aware of a large social gathering, characterized as a party, of an estimated 50-100 individuals that occurred on March 21st in rural Adams County outside of Lima, Illinois. The Department is providing notification to individuals in attendance at that event that they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

At this time, individuals who would have been exposed may have already developed symptoms and in some case have seen symptoms resolve. However, the Department encourages individuals attending this event, especially those who have experienced respiratory symptoms, to notify their close social and household contacts about their potential exposure.

Also during this recent contact investigation, the Department became aware of a large social gathering, characterized as a party, of an estimated 25 individuals that occurred on March 27 in Quincy, Illinois. The Department is contacting individuals regarding their potential exposure during this event, evaluating them for symptoms of disease, and providing appropriate quarantine instructions related to this potential exposure.

Additional contact tracing is ongoing in this matter, and if information allows the Department to make an informed notification regarding specific risk to members of the community, we will provide that notification in a subsequent release.

Social distancing, proper hand hygiene, staying at home when possible and avoiding gatherings of other individuals are all effective measures in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

Public Health officials wish to remind our community that social gatherings are irresponsible and present an unnecessary risk to families and the community as a whole. Further, at this time, under the Governor’s executive order, these activities are illegal. It is important during this challenging time for each member of our community to take seriously each of these recommendations and act in a socially responsible manner.