A recent dance intensive held in Vaughan is believed to have been a “spreader event” for COVID-19, which led to 17 test-positive cases.
According to Patrick Casey, corporate communications director for the York Region Public Health (YRPH), the dance event held between August 17 and 19 is linked to a COVID-19 outbreak that yielded the new cases.
The dance intensive, organized by the NINE Dance Academy and Performing Dance Arts, took place at the banquet hall of the Royalton Hospitality. The organizers described the venue as a “huge facility with a ton of room to dance safely and distanced” when they announced the dance intensive last month.
The YRPH is conducting an ongoing contact tracing to get in touch with the said dance intensive attendees and inform them that they could have been exposed to COVID-19.
Casey added that the City of Vaughan is seeing an increase of individuals infected with the virus, “especially among those who are not fully vaccinated.” Moreover, he emphasized that Vaughan is already in the fourth wave, and the number of infected individuals is expected to surge in the next few weeks.
He also stressed that getting vaccinated and practicing public health measures are crucial in combating the further spread of COVID-19.
