McLean County Health Administrator warns of COVID-19 spike after protesters gather in twin-cities

Posted on June 1, 2020
McLean County Health Department Administrator Jessica McKnight (center). (Blake Haas/WJBC)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – After more than 1,000 protesters gathered at the McLean County Law and Justice Center, the McLean County Health Department Administrator warns of a spike of COVID-19 cases within the next two weeks.

“In two weeks or so, we will likely see an increase in our cases from the fact that we are reopening a lot of our facilities,” Jessica McKnight McLean County Health Department Administrator said. “With large groups of people gathered close together like we have seen the last couple of days, there is a higher risk of spreading the virus.”

McKnight added that if the health department identifies any COVID-19 cases from the gathering, contact tracing would be difficult.

“If we identify any cases related to these mass gatherings, we would be asking those who attended to be monitoring for symptoms. These are the types of events that can be difficult for us because you don’t always know the person next to you personally. These are the kind of instances where if we did identify a case from one of these events that we may need to let the public know if you were at this gathering, then we would ask you to monitor for symptoms and be aware and be on the lookout for that.”

Health officials reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as the case total stands at 220.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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