MACKINAC ISLAND (WWJ) - There are now over twenty people from last week's public affairs conference held on Mackinac Island who have tested positive for COVID-19, reports say.
Councilmember Coleman Young II announced he was experiencing a breakthrough COVID infection on Monday after developing a dry cough just days after the weeklong conference held at the historic Grand Hotel came to a close.
WWJ Newsradio 950 reporter Charlie Langton is the latest journalist to have covered the event that contracted the virus; he said on Twitter that he came down with minor symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Both Young and Langton are fully vaccinated with a booster and are in self-isolation.
Officials at the Detroit Regional Chamber, which organizes the conference, told WWJ on Monday that they knew of 15 cases of the virus in people who attended the event on the island and were diagnosed in the days after.
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Among those to test positive was Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was at the conference and tweeted Monday that he has COVID.
So far other high-profile attendees, such as Mich. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, have remined negative.
According to the AP, wastewater tested on the island before Memorial Day indicted "fairly high" evidence for COVID-19.
The gathering, held every year on Mackinac Island, typically attracts over 1,000 public officials, reporters and more from across Michigan; all 1,347 attendees and support staff this year submitted the required proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test to attend the Conference.
The Chamber says all those who have tested positive are asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms.
The Chamber has set up a hotline and is encouraging those who've been diagnosed to give them a call or text at 313-550-7827 so they can reach out to their close contacts.
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