Wedding guest dies from COVID-19, state traces 71 total outbreaks to nuptials

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health says a person has died after contracting COVID-19 from an outbreak that started at a wedding.

In total 674 cases from 71 outbreaks have been reported in Minnesota connected to weddings as of Wednesday. 

The death came from a wedding that was an outdoor ceremony, but an indoor reception.

While the Health Department said its intention was not to shame anyone about the death, the state's top infectious disease expert Kris Ehresmann wanted Minnesotans to understand that the “danger is real." 

“These should be joyous occasions and we are sad about the heartbreak that accompanies this development,” she said.

MORE: Nearly 70 COVID-19 cases linked to southwestern Minnesota wedding

Social gatherings of many types are driving the pandemic, she added.

In a news conference Monday, Ehresmann said, “Things that may have been relatively safe a month or two ago are no longer safe.”