Sweet 16 party in Miller Place catering facility was Suffolk’s ‘first super-spreader’ event

A sweet 16 party held late last month at a popular event venue in Miller Place was Suffolk County’s first “super-spreader” event, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said today.

The party led to a cluster of 37 positive COVID-19 infections and the quarantining of 270 people, Bellone said.

The Miller Place Inn, which hosted the Sept. 25 sweet-16 party is facing a $10,000 fine for alleged violations of New York State limits on gatherings, social distancing and face coverings and a separate $2,000 fine for alleged violations of the Suffolk County Sanitary Code, Bellone said.

There were 81 people at the party, the county executive said. The legal limit on gatherings is 50 people or 50% of the capacity of a facility, whichever is less.

The county saw its first positive case associated with the party on Sept. 30, five days after the event. Twenty-nine of the cases were people who attended the party, seven were household contacts and one person was a close contact of an attendee. Eight schools had positive cases connected to the party.

The county was able to identify positive cases and quarantine their contacts to prevent further spread, Bellone said. Officials investigated 334 contacts — 151 of them were not school-affiliated, he said.

The outbreak is under control and there is no further community spread, Bellone said.

“We’ve never seen a case like this in Suffolk,” he said. It was the first time Suffolk health officials took an enforcement action against an establishment for violation of state-imposed restrictions, Bellone said. Other enforcement actions have been taken by a State Liquor Authority task force established by the governor.

“This cluster should serve as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of violating COVID-19 rules,” Bellone said.

It’s a reminder to follow the rules: limit social gatherings, wear face coverings and maintain social distance, he said. It’s especially important as the weather gets colder and people move inside and shut the windows, the county executive said.

Venue operator says it was unaware of 50-person limit

Christopher Regina, whose family owns and operated Miller Place Inn, said they were not aware of the 50-person limit until informed of it by a State Liquor Authority agent last week. Until then, he said, they thought they were allowed up to 50% of their 250-person occupancy limit.

“We were under the impression we were operating within the guidelines set forth by the State Liquor Authority and the Department of Health,” Regina said. “At no time did we think were operating in violation.”

Regina said the catering facility is slated to appear in court to answer the county’s notice of violation on Nov. 12.

“We pray for anybody who’s sick and sickened by the virus,” Regina said. “We pray that everyone recovers.”

Bellone said today county health officials are monitoring a recent uptick in hospitalizations. There had been fewer than 30 people hospitalized in Suffolk County for about a month, Bellone said. In the last eight days, hospitalizations increased by 14 to the current 38, he said.

While that number is low compared to hospitalizations in Suffolk during the peak of the outbreak this spring, the rise in hospitalizations is concerning, Bellone said.

“It’s a trend we will continue to monitor very closely,” he said.

Bellone said he is not aware of any connection between the rise in hospitalizations and the Sept. 25 party that produced 37 positive COVID cases.

A federal district court judge in Syracuse today allowed a lawsuit brought by caterers against the state to go forward. The lawsuit seeks to set aside the state’s 50-person occupancy limit on social gatherings. The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, but ruled the action could proceed. See separate story.