At least 19 people got Covid-19 after attending the Pickaway County Fair in Ohio, the county's public health agency said in a report.
Three more cases were reported in family members of those who attended the fair and were infected with the virus, Pickaway County Public Health District said.
The health district is also investigating a coronavirus death linked to the fair, the agency said in the report.
“For the Pickaway County Fair Board and people executing the fair planning and event, there was a lack of implementation on the precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This failure is shown in the number of concerns people had about having the fair during a global pandemic and it is also reflected in the data showing the spike of cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the report said.
Pickaway County Public Health said “food vendors … allowed condiment bottles to be set out for use by any attendee of the fair,” which allowed “for a significant amount of spread of COVID-19 disease from fair attendee to fair attendee.” Additionally, the report said staff and food vendors did not adhere to the mask wearing guidance.
CNN reached out to the fair for comment, but has not heard back.
The fair ran from June 20 to June 27 in Circleville, Ohio.