A Taylor Swift album party became a superspreader event with over 100 attendees testing positive for COVID-19. The event was held December 10, 2021 in Sydney Australia. Sydney is on the epicenter of the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the country since the start of the pandemic. December 31, 2021 the country saw over 21,000 new cases in a country which had previously done an amazing job of controlling the outbreak.
In a public health alert issued on December 16, 2021, the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health said it had been notified of a “venue of concern” in Sydney connected to at least 97 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The health ministry said that anyone who attended the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at the Metro Theatre from 9 p.m. local time on Friday Dec. 10 is considered a “close contact” of a positive Covid case and “must immediately get tested and isolate for 7 days.The event had more than 600 guests, according to the New South Wales Ministry of Health, but officials have only been able to contact those who checked in on-site using a QR code. The health ministry said it was likely that at least some of the cases identified were the omicron variant. NSW Health said it was also asking all household contacts of those at the event to get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received by everyone in the household.
NSW Health reminded everyone of the importance of maintaining COVID-safe practices as transmission is occurring at social events during the festive period. “Everyone should remain vigilant when celebrating with family, friends and colleagues and should not attend any social functions if they have any symptoms.” NSW Health said penalties for non-compliance with isolation, testing and quarantine rules have been increased from $1,000 for individuals to $5,000, with penalties for corporations rising from $5,000 to $10,000.