“At this time, we do not know if the outbreak occurred at the Big Moose Inn or if there may have been additional sites for transmission at other points during the meeting,” said Drs. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, during a news conference on Tuesday.
He added that the reception was a connecting point for the group and the bureau is still investigating the outbreak.
“What we do know at the moment is that the reception that took place there on August 7 was a connecting point and that there may have been other sources of transmission in addition to the reception at Big Moose Inn,” said Dr. Shah.
CNN reached out to Big Moose Inn for comment and received no response.
On Monday, the Maine CDC announced that the wedding had about 65 guests. In total, 24 people tested positive for Covid-19 in connection with the event, according to the agency. She added that 18 of those cases were individuals who attended the reception and six others who had close contact with attendees of the reception.
The agency conducts contact tracking for guests, staff and people who may have had close contact with persons with confirmed cases. They encourage anyone attending the event and have symptoms to contact their health care provider.
“What I think is really important about this situation is that it’s another reminder that Covid-19 exists all over Maine and that it can spread really fast when large groups of people gather,” said Drs. Shah.
“I ask everyone to remember this situation when attending your own social gatherings,” said Drs. Shah. “Things like wearing a face mask and maintaining physical distance are as important today as any time in the outbreak investigation.”
CNN’s Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
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