GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — Seven residents at three Washington state nursing homes have died in a novel coronavirus outbreak possibly linked to staff who attended a large November wedding, since deemed a superspreader event.
According to the Tri-City Herald, some of the wedding guests worked at long-term care centers and tested positive for COVID-19 after the event, but the Grant County Health District issued a statement Thursday noting a conclusive link between the wedding and the nursing home deaths has not yet been determined.
The confirmed nursing home victims were all elderly men with underlying medical conditions, the health district stated, and the affected facilities include McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center in Soap Lake; Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake; and Columbia Crest Center in Moses Lake.
“Because staff in these facilities care for entire units, direct contact with associated patients is not known,” the health district stated.
The outbreaks, however, were reported Nov. 20, about two weeks after the wedding in rural Ritzville was attended by more than 300 people. Statewide coronavirus restrictions at the time of the nuptials limited wedding gatherings to 30 guests or fewer, the Herald reported.
Meanwhile, the seven reported nursing home COVID-19 deaths do not include four additional deaths at the homes for which death certificate reviews are pending, the Herald reported.
According to Fox News, health officials stated on Nov. 16 that at least 17 people who attended the wedding became infected with the virus.
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Cox Media Group
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