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Seven nursing home residents die from COVID after staff members attended a superspreader wedding with more than 300 guests in Washington State

  Seven nursing home residents in   Washington State   with   Covid-19   have died after staff members and more than 300 people attended a w...

 Seven nursing home residents in Washington State with Covid-19 have died after staff members and more than 300 people attended a wedding that violated health restrictions. 

The Grant County Health District revealed that the outbreaks were reported on November 20, just under two weeks after the guideline-flouting ceremony. 

The Covid-19 outbreak spread across three long-term care facilities where the deceased men were all in their 70s, 80s, and 90s with underlying health conditions. 

Grant County health officials announced that seven nursing home residents in Washington State, who were diagnosed with Covid-19, have died. Pictured: McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center in Soap Lake

Grant County health officials announced that seven nursing home residents in Washington State, who were diagnosed with Covid-19, have died. Pictured: McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center in Soap Lake

 McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center, in Soap Lake, had one man in his 80s die from Covid19, with three other deaths pending review.

The deceased at Lake Ridge Center, in Moses Lake, included a man in their 70s, one in their 80s and two in their 90s. The nursing center has one pending death review.

Two men, one in his 70s and the other in his 80s, died of the virus after living at Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake.

Health officials determined that some of the staffers at these facilities attended a large wedding in Ritzville on November 7. 

Two elderly men with Covid-19 died at Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake
Three eledrly men with Covid-19 died at Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake

All the deceased men were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s with underlying health conditions. Pictured: Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake (left) and Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake (right)

A spokesperson told Tri-City Hearld that that wedding was held in a rural airplane hanger, and the reception emerged as a superspreader event with more than 40 confirmed cases. 

Gov. Jay Inslee ordered an occupancy cap on wedding receptions during the pandemic at 30 people - leaving this wedding with at least 270 additional guests. 

It's unclear how many staff members attended the wedding. The wedding was reported to health officials on November 16. 


Health officials are asking more than 300 attendees of a giant Washington state wedding to get tested for COVID-19 after it's been linked to at least 40 cases stock image)

Health officials are asking more than 300 attendees of a giant Washington state wedding to get tested for COVID-19 after it's been linked to at least 40 cases stock image)

A conclusive link between the wedding and the deaths has not yet been made. Health officials continue to investigate the outbreak. 

'Because staff in these facilities care for entire units, direct contact with associated patients is not known,' a statement said.

'Our most vulnerable community members — elderly, immunocompromised, and those with chronic conditions — are especially at risk of complications due to a COVID-19 infection and we must continue to take measures to protect them from this disease.' 

 

The wedding is also being investigated for sparking a Covid-19 outbreak in a Grant County school district. Benton Franklin Health District officials said the wedding was linked to at least four cases in the tri-city area. 

Health officials have declined to name the wedding party.

Grant County has so far recorded 4,296 Covid-19 cases, 40 deaths and 217 hospitalizations - one of the lowest in Washington. 

The state has 174,290 confirmed cases, 2,925 deaths and 1,273 hospitalizations. The United States surpassed a grim milestone of 14million cases and more than 279,900 deaths.

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