'Super-spreader' Sweet 16: 37 people infected with coronavirus and 270 are forced to quarantine after Long Island party for 81 guests at a Long Island inn
A Long Island banquet hall was fined after it hosted a Sweet 16 party that became as a COVID-19 'super-spreader event,' authorities said Tuesday.
The party has been tied to 37 positive coronavirus cases after the Miller Place Inn in Miller Place, N.Y. hosted 81 people for the birthday party on September 25. New York State currently caps capacity at 50 people for indoor events.
Suffolk County officials said 270 people have quarantined as a result of their attendance at the party or their subsequent contact with an attendee.
'This was an egregious violation and should serve as a stark reminder of the consequences that exist for flouting COVID-19 protocols,' said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. 'These rules and regulations exist for a reason - to keep New Yorkers safe - and we all have an obligation to act responsibly.'
Of the 81 partygoers, 29 tested positive. Health officials tracked seven additional positive cases to household members of attendees and a single case was a close contact of a guest.
The Miller Place Inn hosted 81 guests at a September 25 Sweet 16 party that was well over state capacity limits. The party was tied to 37 positive COVID-19 cases, and 270 people quarantined after attending the event or having contact with partygoers
The party caused a COVID cluster at Sachem North High School, which temporarily suspended in-person instruction October 1 after 10 students and one staff member tested positive, according to the school district superintendent and county health officials.
Sachem North reopened Wednesday. Eight other schools had positive cases, and 35 schools had students placed under quarantine, officials said.
The Sweet 16 venue was fined $12,000 for its COVID-related violations and a charge of serving food in unsanitary conditions. Not all guests wore masks, reported Newsday.
Christopher Regina, manager and co-owner of the Miller Place Inn, said he was unaware of the state rules limiting venues to 50 percent capacity or capping guests at 50, whichever is lower.
The Miller Place Inn in Suffolk County, shown here during an event preceding the pandemic, was hit with $12,000 in fines stemming from COVID rule violations and unsanitary food service
Christopher Regina, co-owner and manager of the Miller Place Inn, said he was not aware of state regulations limiting indoor gatherings to 50 people
'We were not notified of that by the State Liquor Authority, the board of health, or the fire marshal. So we thought we were operating within state guidelines,' he told Newsday.
Regina said tables were spaced 10 feet apart and set for six to eight guests.
His lawyer, Anthony Gallo, told Newsday the business had never before run afoul of the law.
'They never had a violation, they never had a run-in with the law so to speak,' he said. 'They're very honorable and hardworking people.'
On his Facebook page Regina posts pro-Trump and anti-mask content. Facebook flagged a COVID meme he shared Tuesday as 'False Information.' The post asserted that coronavirus tests can't distinguish COVID-19 from the common cold and other diseases, which is not true.
Regina posted a COVID meme Tuesday that Facebook flagged as 'False Information.' He also posted anti-mask content to his Facebook page. Not all attendees wore masks at the September 25 party at his venue, which is tied to 37 coronavirus cases
Regina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hamlet of Miller Place has had 208 positive cases as of Monday, or almost 18 per 1,000 residents, according to Suffolk County health data. That's below the state average of about 25 cases per 1,000 people.
In Suffolk County, 2,017 have died from coronavirus as of Tuesday.
'We have not seen an event like this before at any time throughout this pandemic,' said Bellone in a video news conference, according to Newsday. 'For Suffolk County, this was a super-spreader event.'