TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - The annual Chilifest in Taylorville, which led to a positive COVID-19 case, was held against the wishes of local officials, an EMA press release said. 

An employee of a company involved in the annual Taylorville Greater Chamber of Commerce Chilifest tested positive for COVID-19, health officials said. The positive test result came Tuesday, when the person completed a rapid test. 

The person is part of Capital City Cornhole, which held two cornhole tournaments at the 2020 Chilifest, the Chris-Mont EMA said Wednesday. Two other tournaments were held on the same weekend (Oct. 2-4), including one at the American Legion and another at Mity's Pub. 

The EMA said a total of 230 people attended these events, along with "numerous" other observers. Anyone who attended and mingled with participants or employees is considered at risk of exposure.

According to an update WAND-TV received form health officials, organizers ignored the wishes of the city of Taylorville, Christian County, the EMA and Christian County Health Department in holding Chilifest. The health department would not approve food vendors, and the EMA said Chilifest officials got around this by having a licensed kitchen make the chili, with food served individually from a refrigerated truck. 

The EMA said they told organizers to enforce social distancing and masks if they were going against the wishes of local leaders, but did not see those things happening in pictures of the event. 

The EMA is now calling the Chilifest positive case a "super spreader event." Chilifest attendees are asked to monitor their health. A release from the EMA included the following statement: 

"The full extent of this mass exposure at such a large gathering is not possible to fully contact trace, so we encourage all participants/observers that may have been exposed to players/employees to self-monitor for symptoms. This event was not condoned by Christian County Public Health who had met with and advised officials.

If you develop any of the symptoms noted, you are asked to immediately seek COVID-19 testing. If you have no symptoms and are seeking to be tested, it is recommended that you wait five to seven days from your last date of exposure. This allows for an incubation period of COVID-19.

If you test sooner, it may give you a false confidence. If you have additional concerns or need additional guidance, please call the Christian County Health Department at 217-824-4113, ext. 111, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you receive a voicemail, please leave a message and we will return the calls in the order they were received."

EMA leaders said they will meet with other officials Thursday to talk about a plan and campaign to drive home the importance of wearing masks, staying at home and social distancing during the pandemic.Â