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NORTHBROOK (CBS) –A weekday wedding reception at an unincorporated Northbrook hotel has been called a potential “super-event” by county health officials and the hotel could face civil citations.
As reported by CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar, the Cook County Public Health Department said the marriage put lives in danger.
Hundreds of people gathered in a hotel ballroom on Wednesday, toasting the newlyweds. It was a story that CBS 2 aired exclusively on Wednesday night and that county public health officials saw: The bride walked into a room filled with hundreds of people on her special day. All eyes were on her and no mask blocked the smiles. At the Hilton Chicago / Northbrook, CBS 2 saw no social distancing at the wedding – and the groups of people walking around without masks. Only a small number of people covered.
“Deep consternation,” said Dr Rachel Rubin, chief medical officer in the Cook County Department of Public Health. “This event should not have happened. It puts a lot of people at risk. “
Rubin spoke after watching the CBS 2 story showing how the marriage openly shattered COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
“They violated the order to eat inside,” Rubin said. “They also violated the state ordinance or state order regarding the limitation of major events.”
Wedding guests and staff are urged to self-quarantine, and the county is already bracing for positive cases of COVID-19.
“We’ll ask for a guest list, and assuming we get it, we’ll try to reach as many people as possible,” Rubin said. “I see it as a potential mass-market event.”
Rubin and his fellow Cook County Department of Public Health chief medical officer and co-chair Dr Kiran Joshi said in a statement that they “are considering citing the hotel and are considering our legal options today.”
“We need to focus on the people who were present at the wedding, but it’s also important that the hotel knows that so that they can clean those rooms thoroughly,” Rubin said.
The Cook County Health Department calls the wedding a potential super spreader event.
Civil citations are likely.
The health service requests a guest list of everyone present for possible contact tracing.
They also ask customers to quarantine for 14 days@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/qpBZvMPsTH
– Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) December 3, 2020
It was estimated Wednesday night that there were 200 to 300 guests, despite the state ending all private parties and ballroom gatherings.
Photos provided to CBS 2 show a packed cocktail hour – where friends and family hugged and finger foods lick each other’s fingers.
The Northbrook Hilton is independently owned. The hotel management was named in a seizure case in 2017.
Hilton Chicago / Northbrook general manager Holly Allgauer-Cir released the following statement Thursday afternoon, placing the number of people at 150 instead of the 200-300 we observed based on a count and d ‘information from people inside.
“Last night the Hilton Chicago / Northbrook hosted a family wedding with about 150 people in attendance. Although the event was booked prior to the implementation of the latest state mitigation measures, we sincerely regret allowing this gathering to go ahead and our family apologizes to our guests, employees. and the community of Chicagoland.
“The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the hospitality industry and our family business. However, our hope of keeping the hotel afloat and the work of the employees should not take precedence over health and safety.
“We are committed to working with national and local health authorities to ensure our hotel meets all safety measures and mitigation guidelines. We immediately reviewed our bookings to ensure that any businesses that did not comply with state guidelines were not being held at this property, and we are committed to following contact tracing and testing protocols recommended by health officials. .
“It will take time, but we hope to rebuild the trust that our guests, staff and community have placed in us for so many years.
A spokesperson for Hilton said Thursday, “The safety and well-being of our guests and our team members has always been and remains our top priority. We were shocked to learn that one of our independent and independent hotels chose to host an event that did not meet local regulations and Hilton brand standards. We immediately got in touch with hotel ownership to understand the facts and are now responding directly to our expectations with them. “
Governor JB Pritzker said he was “deeply concerned about the people who attended this wedding”.
“I understand that people were very close to each other. I understand that these people will return home or return to their communities and may in fact have infected other people. And this is very worrying for all of us. At a time when we have COVID-19 rampant all over Illinois, the community is spreading, we have people here who in a concentrated way now have the ability to spread it wherever they go, ”he said. he declares.
The governor said he hopes everyone who attended the wedding will now self-isolate and be tested for COVID-19.
Pritzker said he had been in contact with the Cook County Public Health Department to ensure they were following up on the incident.
“It’s very irresponsible, and it’s also irresponsible of the hotel to host an event like this. They too have broken the rules and should be held accountable, ”he said.
Also from CBS Chicago:
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