At least 49 cases of COVID-19 linked to wedding in Calgary: Alberta Health

A recent wedding in Calgary could be considered a ‘superspreader’ of COVID-19. Jackie Perez speaks to an infectious disease expert on whether weddings and events can be celebrated safely.

CALGARY – Alberta Health said 49 active COVID-19 cases have been linked to a wedding in Calgary earlier this month.

The health agency said the wedding had a large number of Albertans from different households.

Alberta Health spokesman Tom McMillan said aggressive contact tracing is underway to identify anyone who may have been exposed to make sure they are isolating and getting tested.

He did not say how many people attended the wedding and said specifics about individual cases cannot be disclosed because of patient confidentiality.

COVID-19 restrictions implemented by the province state a maximum of 100 people can attend outdoor and indoor seated events, such as
wedding ceremonies, funeral services, movie theatres, indoor arts and culture performances.

McMillan said the city of Calgary has recently seen several outbreaks linked to social gatherings.

While many are doing their best to follow public health guidelines… one expert said there’s still a risk.

“49 cases is a lot of cases and is one of the larger outbreaks we’ve seen in Calgary.”

Infectious disease expert Dr. Craig Jenne said anything over 12 to 15 cases could be considered a super spreader event if it came from a single source.

With COVID-19 numbers climbing in Alberta hot spots he questions if now is the time to hold events like this.

“If people develop symptoms five or 10 days after the event, they could spread it on to other people that could take another two weeks.”

Alberta Health tells CityNews that “at this time it is not clear what specific factors led to the level of exposure that occurred. aggressive contact tracing is underway.

“If viral numbers continue to rise we could be faced with losing even the more essential services,” added Jenne.

Meanwhile, businesses like An Affair to Remember catering said this year’s wedding season has brought big challenges.

“Because of the contact from guests, you don’t know who touched certain things. Everything is distributed now by our catering staff,” said General Manager Matthew Pierson.

With wedding season winding down for 2020 he said he is staying positive for the new year.

“We are very optimistic that come 2021 things will get back to normal especially when it comes to weddings. They’re such personal exciting celebrations. something we all don’t’ want to see change.”

 

With files from Jacki Perez, CityNews

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