2 Dead, Dozens Have Coronavirus After 60 Choir Members Gather For Rehearsal

Two have died and dozens have tested
positive for Coronavirus after an outbreak
within a group of 60 choir members who
took part in a rehearsal earlier in March.
The large choir group from Skagit Valley
Chorale had been debating whether to go
ahead with their weekly choir rehearsal in
early March. However, they decided to hold
the gathering as normal at Mount Vernon
Presbyterian Church as their local area of
Skagit County had not reported any cases
of coronavirus yet, and the major outbreak
in the region was an hour’s drive away in
the Seattle area.
The rehearsal took place on March 10, with
121 choir members told by email that the
rehearsal would be on, although just half,
60, turned up on the day.
The group has since said that they had
taken precautions at the choir gathering,
offering hand sanitizer to everyone as they
entered, and prohibiting any direct contact
with one another.
However, nearly three weeks after the 2.5
hour rehearsal took place, 45 of the 60
choir members who attended have been
diagnosed with coronavirus or are ill at
home with symptoms.
The group has reported that of the 45
affected members, two have died and three
others are hospitalized.
According to a report in the Los Angeles
Times, more than half a dozen choir
members have reported that no one
showed any signs of sickness at the
rehearsal.
However, health officials in the county
believe that the virus most likely spread
through the air from one or more members
who had contracted the virus but were
displaying no symptoms at the time.
The outbreak appears to reinforce warnings
by many experts that although social
distancing measures are vital in stopping
the spread of the coronavirus, it is not a
100 percent guarantee.
The news comes as a stark warning as
many officials across the United States
and around the world struggle to enforce
lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.
The United States now has the most
confirmed cases of coronavirus around the
world, with around 140,000 testing positive,
and more than 2,400 deaths due to
COVID-19. Although each country’s
statistics of confirmed cases can be
greatly skewed depending on testing
capacity and strategy from nation to
nation.