Missouri’s First Coronavirus Case Breaks Self-Quarantine to Attend Father-Daughter Dance

The father of Missouri’s first coronavirus patient broke quarantine to go to a school dance with his daughter on Saturday, officials said.

KMOV reported that the family of a St. Louis County woman who tested positive for the coronavirus was asked to self-quarantine on March 5 after the man’s older daughter, who was the first to go under self-quarantine, called the county health line to disclose her symptoms.

During this time, the man took his younger daughter to a father-daughter dinner dance hosted by her school, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School (VDOH), at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the man’s older daughter was at a hospital getting tested for symptoms of the coronavirus.

The father and younger daughter reportedly did not learn of the diagnosis until after they arrived at the dance and left the dance immediately after they found out, VDOH officials said.

VDOH in St. Louis County will remain closed Monday out of an abundance of caution so the disease does not spread. Administrators made the decision after learning of the relationship between the patient and the younger sister, who goes to Villa and attended the social function with her dad.

The father and the daughter also went to a pre-dance party with other students in St. Louis County.

“If you attended the dance, please be attentive to any symptoms you are experiencing,” a message from Villa Duchesne said.

“We will work with officials to ensure we are doing everything possible to mitigate risk and to maintain our safe environment,” said VDOH communications director Alice Dickherber, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

After the dance, Page said health officials told the man that “he must remain in his home or they will issue a formal quarantine that will require him and the rest of his family to stay in their home by the force of law.”

The first person to test positive for the coronavirus in Missouri was a woman in her twenties who came back from studying abroad in Italy. The woman stayed with a friend in the area before taking an Amtrak train to St. Louis on Wednesday.

More than 500 cases and 21 deaths of the coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon.