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The coronavirus outbreak linked to an indoor Maine wedding that violated attendance limits is now responsible for three deaths and nearly 150 infected people, according to the state's Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 65 people attended the Aug. 7 reception at the Big Moose Inn Cabins and Campground in Millinocket, about 70 miles north of Bangor, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said. The Maine governor's executive orders limit gatherings to 50 people indoors, 100 people outdoors and fewer if the space cannot accommodate five people per 1,000 feet.
At the end of August, 53 cases were tied to the wedding. A week later, 134 cases were connected.
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On Friday, 147 people who attended the wedding or got the virus second-hand as a result of someone who attended the wedding tested positive for coronavirus, Maine CDC spokesman Robert Long told NBC News.
Three of those people have died, Long said. None of them had attended the wedding.
The outbreaks are spread among the York County Jail, which has identified 72 cases after an employee attended the wedding, according to Long and Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah.
Ten people tied to Calvary Baptist Church have also tested positive. The pastor of the church officiated the wedding.
And Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center in Madison has 19 cases tied to the wedding. Eight residents and 11 staff there have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The owner of Big Moose Inn did not immediately return telephone or email messages on Wednesday seeking comment about the new data.
“Our hearts go out to the family, those affected by the virus who were at the wedding, and those who have been impacted since then. There is no doubt that this virus is dangerous with wide-ranging impacts,” owner Laura Cormier previously said in a statement.
“We have taken the pandemic seriously, followed the rules as we have understood them, and gone above and beyond those rules to try and keep our guests, staff, and community safe,” she said.
George_Jefferson on September 5th, 2020 at 15:56 UTC »
The article didn't mention that the pastor has continued holding services, and is still acting like this is all a hoax.
Drunkensteine on September 5th, 2020 at 15:39 UTC »
The preacher who performed the ceremony is a real piece. “Todd Bell, pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, said he believed “God, not government,” would control the pandemic. He advised followers to wear masks if they wanted, but doing so was “like keeping a mosquito out of a chain-link fence.”
Velkyn01 on September 5th, 2020 at 15:28 UTC »
I can't imagine wanting to have a wedding so bad that it's worth risking people's lives. Every anniversary would be a reminder that we just had to go forward with it, and now people are dead.