21 out of 29 people tested positive for COVID-19 after family reunion in Oregon – 13 people fully vaccinated

A woman from Portland, Oregon, said 21 of 29 people, including 13 vaccinated, who attended a family reunion have tested positive for COVID-19.

Niki Marienburg told KGW-TV, a Portland-based television news channel, that family members from across the country attended the reunion at the Sunriver Resort, a luxury resort in central Oregon, during 10 days in June. She said most of her family were vaccinated and no one wore masks during the entire meeting.

She told the station her family “had a great time” after not being able to see each other due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But two days after the reunion, one of Marienburg’s cousins ​​texted family members that she felt ill, before testing positive for COVID-19, KGW reported.

“It snowballed and we received text messages from other people in the family who tested positive,” Marienburg told the news station. “It was like one of those stories you hear on the news, like it didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel real.”

Marienburg told the station that people need to take the virus seriously.

“People need to mask themselves and people need to take our safety seriously,” she said.

News week contacted Marienburg for further comment. This story will be updated with any response.

Across the country, COVID-19 cases continue to rise due to the Delta variant, which is as transmissible as chickenpox, according to the CDC. Cases in Oregon have steadily increased over the past month. 999 new cases were reported on Friday, up from 194 a month earlier on June 30, according to data from John Hopkins University.

The state has a relatively high vaccination rate, according to the data. More than 57% of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus, a figure higher than that of the country as a whole, which is just over 50%.

Vaccinated people contracting the virus, known as breakthrough cases, are expected, but not common, according to the CDC. The vaccine remains effective and may make the disease less serious for those infected.

“COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are an essential tool in bringing the pandemic under control. However, no vaccine is 100% effective in preventing disease in people who are vaccinated. There will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who will still get sick, hospitalized or die from COVID-19, ”the CDC’s website read.

Peak symptomatic infections appear to occur in 0.0098% of fully vaccinated people, according to an ABC News article on cases reported by the CDC.