Twenty-Three Nursing Home Residents Die Of Covid-19 After Staff Members Attend Mega Wedding

Twenty-three nursing home residents died after staff members attended a large wedding in Washington. 

Employees at local nursing homes in Washington attended a 300-person wedding back in November, which resulted in 23 residents dying from Covid-19 after several staffers cared for the residents, completely unaware that they contracted coronavirus. On Friday, Grant County health officials announced that residents of two separate long-term care facilities died following previously reported outbreaks, People’s Maria Pasquini. Six deaths are still being looked into. 

Three staff members who work at local nursing homes “self-identified as attending the wedding and worked while contagious before they knew they were ill.” A press release stated that “it will not be known which individual cases or deaths are tied to the staff.” “However, the outbreak occurred at two facilities after the wedding occurred,” the press release added.

At one nursing home, Lake Ridge Center, there 12 staff members, 56 residents, and 15 deaths. At Columbia Crest Center, staff members did not self-identify as those who attended the wedding. The outbreak at Columbia Crest included 21 staff members, 27 residents, which resulted in eight deaths. There was one death at a facility in Ephrata that “can be directly linked to an attendee of the wedding.” At this time, authorities are not releasing the facility’s name. 

In a press release, Dr. Alexander Brzezny, Grant County Health Officer, expressed his condolences to the families that were harmed. “GCHD staff and I wish to extend our most sincere condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and to our communities affected by these tragic deaths of our most vulnerable community members,” he said. “We also extend our encouragement and sympathies to the many dedicated healthcare staff and community members who have joined us on this fight against our common enemy.”

The wedding took place on November 7 at a private location in Ritzville.