‘Superspreader’ event investigated

Columbia County says funeral, wake attended by at least 100 people

Ghent A group of people that has disparaged wearing masks and questioned the effectiveness of vaccines is refusing to cooperate with public health officials after more than 100 people went to a series of private gatherings earlier this month, including a wake and a funeral, according to Columbia County ’s

Public Health Director.

County Health Director Jack Mabb said on Tuesday the county is watching for a possible “superspreader” event due to the lack of information it has received from the woman who organized the events. The host held a wake for the deceased on Dec. 6 and there was a funeral, followed by a bonfire at another home on Dec. 9. At least one person who had already contracted the coronavirus attended the events and public health officials believe one or two others may have been positive

as well, Maab said.

Under the state’s coronavirus restrictions, private gatherings are limited to 10 people.

Mabb did not identify the man who died or the woman who hosted the events but said he and others at the county regularly get emails from a small portion of the community containing videos or links to stories that question the effectiveness of masks and vaccines.

“That’s a dangerous thing because this is not the flu, there have been long-term effects on people,” he said

When the county contacted the woman who

hosted the funeral after learning that the actual crowd size was closer to 100 than 10, she refused to tell contact tracers any more. Given the lack of information, the county health department is concerned its coronavirus numbers could rise dramatically toward the end of the month.

Mabb said that because only one person who attended the events has contacted the county and the organizers refuse to speak with them, there is little else the county can do beyond offering testing to those who were at the homes.

That reflects a larger problem that the county health department is encountering, where people swear at and slam the

phones down on contact tracers, rather than tell them basic information, he said.

The county learned several parents of children who attend Hawthorne Valley School and one faculty member went to the funeral events. A county news release on Monday indicated the school had closed to inperson instruction in part due to the potential exposure caused by the events.

Karin Almquist, director of Hawthorne Valley School, said the person who died rented an apartment from a Hawthorne Valley faculty member. Almquist said the school did not condone any gatherings that violated the state’s public health guidelines and that the

school has taken extra precautions this year to prevent any infections. Almquist said she believed the school was the only one in Columbia County to not have a positive case among students, faculty or staff.

She also said she was not sure why the school was mentioned in a county news release. The school had been considering a switch to remote learning since Thanksgiving because of the steady increase in cases locally. It decided to make the switch on Monday out of an abundance of caution, not because of an outbreak, Almquist said.

Mabb said the school did the right thing by deciding to close for an extended period of time.