Swingers' Convention Turns Into Coronavirus Super-Spreader Event As 41 Attendees Test Positive

A swingers' convention in the US turned into a coronavirus super-spreader event, with 41 attendees testing positive for the virus.

The Naughty in Nawlins convention took place in New Orleans last month, with around 300 people attending.

However, despite taking 'extraordinary measures' to prevent the spread of Covid-19, 41 cases were reported in the aftermath of the event, with one person hospitalised as a result.

Sharing a blog post on Friday, organiser Bob Hannaford said he regretted hosting the event.

He said: "We had five people that tested positive on Monday. On Tuesday we got up to 14. On Wednesday we jumped up to 29 cases and by our last count, we have 41 positive tests, out of 300 people.

"Most would consider that a positivity rate of 13 percent, but there's more to a positivity rate. You see, we have no idea how many people got tested after our event, nor if anyone tested positive and didn't tell us.

"There could also be people that are positive, but without symptoms, so they never got tested."

He continued: "If I could go back in time, I would not produce this event again. Even though most of the 41 positive cases have mostly been asymptomatic or very mild cases.

"The reason I wouldn't is that I know of two people who had a tougher time and they were suffering. One of them, a good friend of mine, was hospitalized in serious condition.

"If I thought for one minute that he or anyone would end up in the hospital, I would certainly not have had our event."

Thankfully Bob's friend is out of hospital now, but how this came to be is still baffling to Bob, given the strict measures he put in place.

He said: "We went to extraordinary measures for check-in and instituted a touchless process with required temperature checks, social distancing in line, and sanitizing upon check-in.

"We issued wristbands in one colour to indicate who had antibodies and therefore was not contagious.

"We issued a second colour to those that showed us a very recent negative Covid-19 test. The wristbands even had each person's date of their test circled.

"Over 50 percent of our attendees had the antibodies and many of the rest got tested right before the event. We were feeling better and better about the risk potential as the event was about to kick off.

"We required masks in all public places and told them they would have to wear them in elevators and even in our parties and while up on the rooftop pool."

The US has recorded more than 270,000 coronavirus deaths - more than any other country in the world.

It is feared that Thanksgiving gatherings could cause cases to surge further, leading to more deaths over the festive period.

Topics: Coronavirus, US News

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey