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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls a recent indoor wedding 'obnoxious' after a third of guests contracted COVID-19

Nov 12, 2020, 02:59 IST
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  • Over 100 people attended an indoor wedding in Long Island, New York, that has been linked to 34 cases of COVID-19.
  • North Fork Country Club hosted the wedding on October 17, exposing at least 157 people to the coronavirus.
  • New York has since revoked the club's liquor license and issued the owners a fine of $17,000.
  • "Hosting one of these events after all New York has been through is obnoxious and irresponsible — not to mention illegal," Cuomo said in a statement.
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The latest threat to public health on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's radar is a Long Island wedding that led to the infection of 34 people with COVID-19 in October.

North Fork Country Club hosted a wedding with 113 guests on October 17, violating Cuomo's executive order that bans gatherings of over 50 people in New York.

In the following weeks, cases started to emerge and contact tracers pinpointed the nuptials as the source, which reached the attention of Gov. Cuomo. On November 10, the venue had its liquor license removed and was stuck with a $17,000 fine.

"Hosting one of these events after all New York has been through is obnoxious and irresponsible — not to mention illegal," Cuomo said in a statement.

New York COVID-19 cases surged 80% more in the last four weeks than the month before that, making large gatherings that could pose as possible superspreader events even more dangerous.

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Weddings have been common 'superspreader' events during the pandemic

The Long Island incident is only the latest of marriage-related super-spreading fiascos.

In August, a Maine indoor wedding ceremony and reception were linked to 147 coronavirus cases and subsequent outbreaks in two nursing homes and a prison.

Another indoor wedding held in San Francisco led to the infection of 10 attendees, including the couple themselves.

Preliminary research published in July from a team of epidemiologists in Hong Kong found a majority of new coronavirus cases come from superspreader events like large gatherings, making big indoor weddings especially risky as cases across the globe begin to climb again.

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