On March 6, Scott Maggs and Emma Metcalf enjoyed their picturesque wedding at Stanwell Tops on the New South Wales South Coast.
For their honeymoon, they went to the Maldives. It was there, while in a remote hut on the sea, that two of their wedding guests sent them an alarming message: they had tested positive to COVID-19, the virus responsible for the pandemic that has so far killed over 11,000 people globally.
With 120 wedding attendees, the couple immediately informed their friends and family who had been guests at their nuptials one week prior. They also contacted the NSW Health.
Upon learning the news, all had to go into self-isolation.
As of Friday, 37 of the couple’s guests had confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including elderly family members and people who travelled from around the world. It is understood the cases are in relation to United States travel.
“Due to factors outside our control, our wedding has become front-page news for something we could never anticipate,” the couple wrote on their Instagram pages on Friday evening.
They said they were “eternally grateful” of the guests who “were smart enough to get tested” upon suffering symptoms, as it allowed the newlyweds to “contain the transmission of something currently spinning the world into unprecedented fervour”.
“Australia was a very different place then to what it is today,” they wrote of their wedding day.
“There were no travel bans or restrictions on gatherings and we would never have put people at risk if we had known what we know now. ”
They continued: “It’s a very serious situation and our main priority is the health and safety of our guests and the broader community.”
Scott Maggs, the groom, is the CEO of a health promotion charity and says he is committed to ensuring people are “well informed, can monitor their symptoms, manage their self-isolation and have the opportunity to be tested — should they meet the criteria.”
Maggs told his followers to “know the warning signs, look out for each other and give people a (sanitised) hand instead of pointing fingers. Australia is all about mateship.”
Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, the bride Emma Metcalf said the media attention placed on their wedding has meant members of the public have been messaging them and accusing them of being irresponsible.
“[The media attention] just created more hysteria and panic when really, I think we should be thankful for the people who went and got tested and let us know what was going on. We can’t shame people over a disease,” Metcalf told the publication.
“This was the last thing in the world we wanted for our special day, but we hope our story can remove the stigma about testing positive and help people stay calm in the face of adversity,” the groom finished his post on Instagram. “We’re all in this together and together, we can overcome it.”
Neither the bride or groom tested positive to coronavirus.
Tumbling Waters Retreat, where the wedding was held, also released a statement on Friday afternoon, confirming that none of their staff members who tested for COVID-19 came back positive.
“They are due to come out of self-isolation today as recommended by NSW Health,” the statement read.
“The staff that were eligible for testing for the COVID-19 virus, all tests returned negative. Not positive. Not contagious.”
In Australia, as of Saturday, March 21, there are 877 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
New South Wales is the worst-hit state or territory in terms of coronavirus cases, with six of the seven Australian fatalities occurring in NSW.
Globally, there are 274,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and the number of deaths has now surpassed 11,000. Over 90,000 people have recovered.
Read more:
- What you need to know about COVID-19 today, Saturday March 21.
- ‘7 weeks ago, I left Australia for the adventure of a lifetime. Yesterday, I was forced to fly home.’
- “We could lose everything.” 10 women who have lost their job or income due to COVID-19.
The Australian Government Department of Health advises that the only people who will be tested for COVID-19 are those with symptoms who have either returned from overseas in the past 14 days or been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the past 14 days.
If you are sick and believe you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your GP ahead of time to book an appointment. Or call the national Coronavirus Health Information Line for advice on 1800 020 080. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
To keep up to date with the latest information, please visit the Department of Health website.
The current situation around COVID-19 might be making you feel scared or uncertain. It’s okay to feel this way, but it’s also important to learn how to manage feelings of anxiety during this time. To download the free PDF: Anxiety & Coronavirus – How to Manage Feelings of Anxiety click here.
Feature Image: Instagram/tumblingwatersretreat.
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Top Comments
So the "health promotion charity" that he is CEO of seems to have as its sole purpose "to sell my beard for a million dollars to fund a free national skin check program"... so once he shaves his beard, that's it? Or is the charity working with the people who might offer those sort of checks? I'd be interested to know more about it, because it feels just a little bit dodgy to me - hope I'm wrong!