Two Ohio newlyweds have opened up following their Halloween wedding that became a coronavirus superspreader event. The couple says that “in the moment,” they did not think that their wedding could result in such massive contamination for multiple people.
Anthony and Mikayla Bishop said that of the 83 attendees to their wedding ceremony in Blue Ash, Ohio, 32 have tested positive for the coronavirus so far. This includes the couple and three of their elderly grandparents, two of which had to be hospitalized due to severe symptoms. While the couple provided face masks for everyone who attended, the majority of her guests opted not to wear them.
“My big moment honestly was right when the ceremony started, and the doors opened, and both my parents walked me down the aisle. The first thing I see is I see everyone’s face. And that’s when I realized wow. Nobody’s wearing a mask. I’m walking down the aisle. We can’t do anything now.”
Despite this, the bride confessed that she did not think her guests would become sick.
“I didn’t think that almost half of our wedding guests were gonna get sick. You’re in the moment. You’re having fun. You don’t think about COVID anymore,” Mikayla told WLWT.
Mikayla and Anthony believed that they had done enough to safeguard guests against the virus. In addition to providing face coverings, they also cut their guest list from 200 to 85. Still, the virus struck.
The couple began to develop symptoms after traveling to North Carolina for their honeymoon. Anthony lost his sense of taste and smell, which is one of the most common coronavirus symptoms. Mikayla was weak and barely able to move from the couch. This was when the phone calls began to come in from wedding attendees who had either tested positive or were feeling ill and suspected that they had the virus.
“Every single day we’re getting a call. Oh here’s another person. Here’s another person. Here’s another person. And it starts to take a toll on you,” Mikayla said.
The couple believes that dancing at the reception played a major role in the celebration becoming a superspreader event.
“That’s what was maybe the superspreader is the dance floor,” Mikayla said. “Everybody’s in each other’s face, and there’s no masks.”
They did confirm that their grandparents were the only wedding-goers who wore their masks and did not partake in any of the dancing.
