[ad_1]
The unholy union of wedding receptions and the coronavirus has public health officials begging Americans to say “I’m not doing this” at the pandemic nuptials.
Between the Pacific Northwest and the forests of Maine across the country, joyous expressions of love have become Covid-19 super-spreaders, fueling the deadly coronavirus peak of the fall.
“Marriage is so dangerous these days, you honestly ask for nothing but trouble,” said Ali H. Mokdad, director of population health strategy at the University of Washington.
“This is the perfect example of what we don’t want to see,” said Karen Potts, director of the Adams County Department of Health in eastern Washington. “It’s just a real risk at the moment.”
While restaurants across America are open with a limited number of meals indoors, weddings present a specific risk as patrons mingle with their party mates – unlike a typical restaurant, where patrons don’t. interact that in their own little party.
“Weddings are very dangerous right now, especially as the infection rate is higher and marriages now take place indoors and not outdoors,” Mokdad told NBC News.
“And you hug your friend, you hug your family, you do that. In many cultures, we embrace each other. We are kissing. You approach them, especially people you haven’t seen for a long time. You want You are laughing and joking and yes, you are spreading the virus more than ever. “
The threat posed by pandemic marriages is only made possible by basic human psychology – believing that contact with loved ones cannot be harmful.
“A lot of people don’t believe you can actually catch it from your family and friends, they feel safe around people they know,” Potts said. “And I think that’s why this kind of event happens, people just feel safe and they go to the event, and it spreads so quickly.”
This false sense of security in tight-knit communities near Ritzville, about an hour from Spokane, has opened the door to a marriage that is now the source of at least eight cases of Covid-19 in County of Adams and over 40 others in neighboring Grant County. , officials said.
“Especially in a rural area, people think, ‘Who is going to know?’ And they’re not going to get caught. And if people hadn’t started getting sick, they probably wouldn’t have, ”Potts told NBC Now. “The consequences are enormous.”
The threat of hosting a big-ticket event hasn’t deterred all couples from going ahead with their big day this fall.
Lucas and Kathryn Young got hitched up in September in Mercer, Pa., With guests wearing colored bracelets indicating how comfortable they were socializing.
“It was easy to tell who would be comfortable with you coming to them and who was like, ‘Oh, I’m more hesitant about this,'” said Kathryn Young.
Michael Masi, a wedding planner in Miami, always goes ahead with ceremonies for guests, insisting that they follow local and state guidelines and dong what is “responsible and safe.” “
He and his wife Jessica Masi, who jointly run Masi Events, said they are urging the lovebirds to hold dramatically smaller ceremonies now and then explode later when the pandemic is finally over.
“And what we find interesting is that a lot of them have made the choice to go ahead with their original marriage,” said Michael Masi.
“But they’ve done it responsibly and have moved on to a ‘micro marriage’ now, with 16, 20 or less of their closest friends and family, and they still have their big party next year where they can celebrate with everyone on their first birthday. “
But even meetings just above Masi’s “micro marriage” standard turned out to be disastrous.
The wedding super-broadcaster event in Maine only had 55 guests, but became so notorious that it warranted a report to the federal Centers for Disease Control and could lead to a wave of lawsuits.
Relatives of Mary Hughgill, an 82-year-old woman who died in a nursing home from Covid-19 infection attributable to the marriage, have already hired a lawyer who has filed a notice of a possible civil action against the facility care for the elderly.
“For months, you couldn’t turn on the TV, read a newspaper or scroll through social media without hearing about these security measures,” said estate attorney Timothy Kenlan. “Sometimes individuals and businesses make bad decisions.”
It is believed Hughgill was infected by an employee at his Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center in Madison after this worker came into contact with a wedding guest.
“These were people (wedding planners and guests) who didn’t take this seriously in the midst of a pandemic,” Kenlan said. “It’s a relatively small subset, a small subset of people who don’t take it as seriously as they should and it’s led to tragic results.”
The Associated Press contributed.
[ad_2]
Source link