Ohio changes wedding restrictions after 32 of 83 guests at one event get coronavirus

Ohio has revised its rules around large gatherings after at least 32 people who attended a single ceremony tested positive for the coronavirus.

The state has spent much of the pandemic barring gatherings of more than 10 people, but weddings and funerals were exempt. In a revised order Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) barred more than 10 people at a single table at wedding receptions and said attendees should wear masks at all times except when eating and drinking, according to The Washington Post.

“Despite the health order that limited mass gatherings to 10 people that was signed in April remaining in effect, we have seen rampant spread of the virus as a result of banquets, wedding receptions, and social gatherings following funerals,” DeWine said in a statement. “We have seen great tragedy associated with such events. It’s not the ceremonies causing the problem. It’s the party afterward.”

Thirty-two of 83 attendees at a recent Cincinnati-area wedding have tested positive for the virus, according to the newspaper, the latest of several weddings across the country linked to outbreaks of the virus.

“I didn’t think that almost half of our wedding guests were going to get sick,” Mikayla Bishop, the bride, told the newspaper. “You’re in the moment. You’re having fun. You don’t think about COVID anymore.”

People who have tested positive included the couple’s three grandparents, who were the only attendees to wear masks throughout the event and who did not participate in dancing, for which none of the attendees wore masks.

Although the entire country has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks, Midwestern states have been particularly affected. Ohio reported 2,915 new cases on Oct. 31, the day of the Bishops’ wedding, with more than double that amount, 7,079, as of Tuesday. At least 5,772 Ohioans have died from the virus overall.