Dozens of guest test positive after attending a wedding in Australia (Representational image)
Dozens of guests, who attended a wedding in Australia, have tested positive for the noval coronavirus, heatlh officials informed. New South Wales Chief Health Officer Dr. Kerry Chant in a press conference on COVID-19 informed that six guests who attended a wedding on March 6 at Tumbling Waters Retreat in Stanwell Tops, were infected with COVID-19, however, that toll climbed to 37 by Friday. Australia's overall COVID-19 confirmed cases toll stands at 1,122 while seven fatalities have been reported till date.
After the newly married couple was informed by some of the guests who attended their wedding that they were infected with COVID-19, the couple immediately informed all other guests to get tested for the coronavirus. Taking to their Instagram page, the couple wrote, "@scottjmaggs and I tied the knot in a glorious fashion on the 6th of March at the beautiful @tumblingwatersretreat in Stanwell Tops. We were surrounded by our nearest and dearest and it was one of the best moments of our lives. The only media attention we were hoping for was to hero all the amazing people and small businesses who helped make our day so special. But due to factors outside our control, our wedding has become front-page news for something we could never anticipate… "
"On our honeymoon we were messaged by a couple of guests who had developed symptoms of COVID-19 and were smart enough to get tested. For this we are eternally grateful, because when their results came back positive it enabled us to immediately inform our guests, provide information to the Health Department and contain the transmission of something currently spinning the world into unprecedented fervor," the couple said.
"Australia was a very different place than it is today. There were no travel bans or restrictions on gatherings and we would never have put people at risk if we had known what we know now," they informed.
The couple further added, "There are now 37 confirmed cases in our guest list. Some of whom are elderly family members and people who travelled from interstate and overseas. It’s a very serious situation and our main priority is the health and safety of our guests and the broader community."
"Normally, Scott’s charity (@beardseason) is all about ‘early detection’, but unless you’re showing symptoms it’s important not to overwhelm the health system. Instead, know the warning signs, look out for each other and give people a (sanitised) hand instead of pointing fingers. Australia is all about mateship. We showed it during the bushfires and we can do it through this."
"This was the last thing in the world we wanted for our special day. But this crisis is going to affect so many of us in so many ways. We hope that by sharing our story we can remove the stigma about testing positive and help people stay calm in the face of adversity. We’re all in this together, and together we overcome it," the couple concluded.
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