Deadly wedding in Maine: 7 deaths, 175 people infected with Covid-19

The August 7 nuptials saw more than 65 guests attend the reception where the state limit was 50 people. Photo / 123rf

A US wedding which violated social distancing rules has resulted in 175 coronavirus infections and seven deaths.

The August 7 nuptials saw more than 65 guests attend the reception at Big Moose Inn in the Maine town of Millinocket, exceeding the state's limit of having just 50 people present at weddings, NBC Boston reports.

At least seven deaths have been linked to the wedding, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Subsequent inspections by the CDC also reportedly found tables in the inn were not sufficiently spaced apart and staff were not wearing masks.

Local station News Center Maine also reports that guests at the wedding had not worn masks or socially distanced from each other, despite signage telling them to do so.

Crucially, the inn also did not collect contact tracing information from guests.

Multiple outbreaks in Maine have now been connected to the wedding reception, including one at an aged care facility, Maplecrest Rehabilitation Center, where there were six of the seven deaths linked to the wedding.

More than 39 staff and residents at the nursing home have tested positive, with locals telling NBC Boston the outbreak was a "difficult" situation.

None of the six residents who died attended the wedding reception, said Dr Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC.

There are also more than 70 confirmed cases at York County Jail linked to the wedding, with a staff member there who had attended the reception.

The wedding was also officiated by pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford. The Maine CDC is currently investigating to determine if an outbreak at the church is connected to the wedding outbreak. That outbreak has sickened 10 people, Shah said.

Calvary Baptist Church issued a statement on Tuesday that said "a number of Calvary Baptist Church members attended" the wedding reception. The statement said the church is taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus, and it will defend its right to continue holding services.

Bell has been critical of government attempts to control coronavirus, and videos show he has held services without the use of social distancing.

The health violations at the wedding venue saw Big Moose Inn temporarily closed by health officials. However late last month it was able to reopen its doors.

In a statement, the inn's owner Laurie Cormier said he was "deeply saddened" by the outbreak but that "we cannot be sure the virus was fully spread at our facility".

Cormier said the venue had misinterpreted state rules by splitting the wedding guests up and since added more sanitisation procedures.

"Our interpretation was that we could take a wedding party of more than 50 persons, and split them between two rooms as long as it didn't exceed our total capacity or a specific room's capacity," he said.

"The state – perhaps, rightly so – assumes that individuals from a larger group would ignore the room restrictions, and take the opportunity to co-mingle."

Cormier said that all guests had been temperature-screened before attending and only two staff have since tested positive for coronavirus.

"While we cannot be sure the virus was fully spread at our facility, we know that there are things that we can be doing better," he said.

"We have given the Maine CDC our word, and we are giving our community and guests that same word that we will do – and are doing – better."