North Fork CC in Cutchogue, N.Y. will be fined $15,000 for violating the governor’s executive order that limits nonessential gatherings to 50 attendees, and another $2,000 for violating a county sanitary code. At least 90 people attended the wedding and 30 have since tested positive for coronavirus. “This type of blatant disregard for the well-being of others is not only extremely disappointing—it will not be tolerated,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said.
Suffolk County (N.Y.) Executive Steve Bellone announced the county would fine North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue, N.Y. $15,000 for violating Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s executive order, which limits gatherings to 50 people or less, and another $2,000 for violating Suffolk’s sanitary code, Newsday reported.
At least 90 people attended the October 17 wedding, Bellone said at an October 28 news conference, CNN reported. Thirty of those guests have since tested positive for coronavirus, and 159 of those guests’ close contacts have been told to quarantine.
North Fork Country Club did not return requests for comment from Newsday or CNN.
“This type of blatant disregard for the well-being of others is not only extremely disappointing—it will not be tolerated,” Bellone said of large gatherings. “We have literally come too far here.”
One wedding guest who tested positive attended an Oct. 20 Orient Fire Department meeting, county officials told Newsday. Eleven fire district members or associates are now quarantining while all COVID-19 tests have thus far come back negative, district officials said.
The State Liquor Authority, which has the authority to suspend the country club’s license, told Newsday it opened an investigation “of this allegedly illegal and dangerous event,” spokesman William Crowley said.
Bellone urged Suffolk County residents, a few days ahead of Halloween, to be mindful of attending events, even ones that don’t technically violate Cuomo’s executive order, CNN reported. Another party hosted in the county on the same day as the wedding didn’t violate Cuomo’s executive order limiting event attendance, but 26 of the 50 people who attended have since tested positive for Covid-19, Bellone said. One hundred and thirty-two of the guests’ contacts have been told to quarantine.
Between the two events, 56 people tested positive for Covid-19 and more than 300 people have been told to quarantine as a result, he told CNN.
Nearly 50,000 people in Suffolk County have tested positive for Covid-19 since March, according to the county’s coronavirus case dashboard. More than 2,000 people have died in the county, and at one point in the spring, the county’s morgue and overflow morgues, nearing capacity, relied on refrigerated buildings to house bodies, CNN reported. In April, the county recorded more than 1,000 new cases every day for several days, though eventually new cases dwindled to less than 100 every day for most of the summer, county health data shows.
To combat the surge, New York strictly limited businesses, schools and public activities for most of the summer and gradually began reopening due to a significant downturn in new cases, CNN reported. But now, with the surge in potential superspreader events like the wedding, birthday party and house party, Suffolk County officials fear that the area could again see a surge in cases.
“While I understand people’s frustration with the situation that we are all in, we have come this far because we’ve worked together,” Bellone said at the October 28 conference. “And these types of events can undermine and undo all that good work.”
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