Cass County July 4th weekend party now responsible for at least 50 COVID-19 cases

At least 50 confirmed coronavirus cases are related to a party in Cass County over the Fourth of July weekend, according to the Cass County Health Department.

After previously learning of five confirmed COVID-19 cases from the July 3 party, health department officials announced the “coronavirus cluster” and encouraged anyone who attended the party to quarantine for 14 days and get tested if they experienced symptoms.

Because the party didn’t have a guest list and it involved underage drinking, health officials said it wouldn’t be possible to track everyone who attended and was potentially exposed.

After making that announcement, the health department hosted a free drive-thru testing event for anyone who may have been exposed at the party or to someone who attended, said Sarah Czech, the department’s health educator. She said 134 people were tested and 18 tested positive. The other confirmed cases were tested at other sites, she said.

Cole Wood, one of the partygoers who said he later experienced COVID-19 symptoms, said he thought about 400 people attended the event. When he agreed to help promote the party on social media, Wood said he hadn’t known anyone with coronavirus, and thought of it as less of a threat since guidelines had been in place for several months.

Now, he and others involved regret the decision.

“We all feel bad for causing this little outbreak that has happened,” he told The Star earlier. “We feel like we should have been more responsible. Told people to wear masks or something. Not invited everyone.”

Czech said many of the attendees who tested positive expressed similar regret and didn’t think the party would have such an impact.

The health department and county continue to encourage people to wear masks when they can’t social distance by at least 6 feet, wash their hands often and avoid touching their face. Czech emphasized the importance of avoiding large gatherings because of their increased risk to spread the virus and the difficulty in tracing potential exposures in events like the July 3 party when no set guest list is available.

“The guidelines are there to help you and the people around you,” Czech said. “COVID-19 is still here. The rise in cases recently has showcased that it’s not going away yet and we need to be vigilant and keep taking precautionary measures.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 6:41 PM.