Homecoming dance eyed as ‘superspreader’ after students test positive, MO officials say

A homecoming dance in Missouri may have been a “superspreader event,” health officials say. The dance wasn’t sponsored by the high school.

Rolla High School announced Wednesday that 10 students and one staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. Students, families and staff members who were in close contact with those infected are all being notified, the Phelps-Maries County Health Department said.

The news comes after some Rolla high school students gathered at Matt’s Steakhouse on Saturday for an unofficial homecoming dance, though, not all of the positive cases were linked to the dance, officials told McClatchy News.

Officials said that the dance may prove to be a “superspreader event,” with more cases tied to the event expected in the coming weeks.

“Actions and events such as this are reckless and go against all public health mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the entirety of the community,” the health department said in a news release.

Anyone who was at the dance or had children in attendance is asked to contact the health department and to self-quarantine until Nov. 22.

Those who develop symptoms should be tested immediately, officials said.

Because officials have been tied up with cases from the dance, they said they’ve fallen behind with tracing other cases that are unrelated to the event.

“Due to the magnitude of positive cases and contacts, all case investigation and contact tracing efforts have been forced to focus solely on this event pushing us even further behind with contacting new positive cases,” health officials said. “If you are pending a test result or have received a positive test result, please continue to isolate.”

The health department reminded residents to avoid crowded gatherings and to stay home if they’re feeling ill.

Phelps County has had 1,114 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic and 33 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Rolla is roughly 100 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that not all COVID-19 infections were directly tied to the dance.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 8:36 AM.