Fifteen people infected with Covid with some critical after attending a CAT’S birthday party in Chile
A COVID-19 outbreak that infected 15 people with the virus and left several people critically ill reportedly started at a cat’s birthday party.
According to reports from local media, 10 people attended the party in Santo Domingo, in the Chilean region of Valparaiso.
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All of them were infected with the virus, and were suspected to have passed it on to a further five family members and friends.
It was unclear whether authorities were still looking for possible cases through contact tracing.
The Valparaiso Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Health (SEREMI), Francisco Alvarez, confirmed the outbreak during a public statement with local media last week.
The secretary said he hadn’t believed initial reports as to how the outbreak had started.
“When I heard it was a cat’s birthday party I thought it was a joke.”
“That they were probably trying to hide something, but indeed it was.”
“We have corroborated it with at least six of the 15 [infected] people who told us the same thing.”
“The cat never had the virus. It was the birthday organiser, the owner, she was patient zero,” Alvarez added.
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It wasn’t clear exactly when the feline’s birthday party happened, however the cause of the spread had been confirmed by officials.
Alvarez said it was “inconceivable” that such an outbreak would occur, after authorities repeatedly informed people to take necessary precautions at gatherings or simply stay at home.
The official had previously been infected with the virus and was “at death’s door” because of it, according to a report by Meganoticias.