A catering hall in Suffolk County has been issued $12,000 in fines, after hosting what officials are calling a “super-spreader” event. Health officials say the Miller Place Inn, in Miller Place, has been charged with causing, permitting and serving as the venue for an indoor gathering of more than 50 persons and did not enforce New York State and County of Suffolk Department of Health COVID-19 restrictions. Additionally, the facility was charged with operating a food establishment in an unsanitary condition. The legal action follows the reporting of several positive COVID-19 cases throughout the Sachem School District to Suffolk County Department of Health Services beginning on September 30th.
- The “super spreader” Sweet 16 held on September 25, 2020, had 81 guests, including 49 students and 32 adults and lead to 37 COVID-19 positive cases.
- 29 of the positive COVID-19 cases were individuals who attended the Sweet 16, seven were household contacts and one case was a close contact of someone who attended the party.
- To date health officials have identified 334 contacts, 151 who were non-school affiliated and 183 who were school affiliated.
- At present, 270 contact are under quarantine and 11 cases are under active isolation.
- Eight schools have reported positive cases in connection to the Sweet 16 party and 35 schools have at least one student who has been affected by the event, while one school has had as many as 74 students impacted.
NYS Executive Orders limit all non-essential gatherings to 50 or fewer people or 50% capacity, whichever is less. Fines for the violations include: $10,000 for violations of Section 12-B(2) of the Public Health Law and violations of New York Executive Orders and $2,000 fine due to violations of Suffolk County Sanitary Code.
Photo credit: Ava Orobello
