56 COVID-19 cases linked to wedding reception in southwestern Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Dozens of confirmed COVID-19 cases have been linked to a wedding reception in southwestern Minnesota, according to Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann.

Ehresmann shared the details of the outbreak in an effort to encourage people to avoid large social gatherings ahead of the Labor Day weekend. Health leaders say data shows Minnesota is in a more precarious position now than it was heading into the Fourth of July weekend.

Ehresmann says masks were not worn at the wedding reception, which had 275 guests - a number that exceeded capacity guidelines amid the pandemic. Now, there are 56 confirmed coronavirus cases, spanning nine different counties, linked to the reception. Among the infected are long-term care facility workers, health care workers and educators. Ehresmann says there may be even more cases connected to the event, but some are avoiding testing.

"By failing to acknowledge a problem, you don't make that problem go away, you just make it worse," said Ehresmann. "People who don't get tested for COVID because they are fearful of the impact it will have on themselves or their school or their community, in reality are making the problem worse."

Ehresmann also confirmed an a cluster of cases at a different wedding, where one of the attendees had recently returned from the Sturgis motorcycle rally.

"The decision to attend a high-risk event and then not self-quarantine upon return resulted in others getting sick," said Ehresmann.

In Minnesota, there have been 50 confirmed cases and one death associated with those who personally attended the Sturgis rally. State health officials have been monitoring secondary transmission from the event.