Dozens of Sundance Movie Pageant attendees fell ailing on the heels of the star-studded occasion — in what one knowledgeable says might have been early, undiagnosed coronavirus circumstances, in line with a report.
The festival-goers — together with actors, writers and trade honchos — had been struck by fever, cough and shortness of breath after packed theater screenings in late January, in line with hollywoodreporter.com.
“All of us had the identical signs, all had the cough, all had hassle respiration at night time,” mentioned indie actress Ashley Jackson, who attended the competition in Park Metropolis, Utah, on Jan. 27. “We had been all simply depressing for 3 to 4 weeks.”
She added, “I began texting different individuals who had been at Sundance, and one mentioned, ‘Yo, we simply began calling it the Sundance Plague,’ ” mentioned Jackson. “After which I see all these coronavirus tales, and I used to be like, ‘Whoa.’ ”
Of the handfuls of festival-goers interviewed by the outlet, practically all knew of others who suffered from a illness just like theirs after attending.
In a single case, an unnamed film star turned “gravely ailing” — and in one other, a member of the media was “barely purposeful.”
“[I] was as sick as I’ve ever been for 2 weeks. Solely actually felt 100 p.c by the weekend of the Oscars,” mentioned Franklin Leonard, founding father of the trade publication Black Record.
Paige McGarvin, a 23-year-old actress, mentioned her thriller sickness was finally recognized as “flu-like signs and exacerbated bronchial asthma” in early February.
“I’ve by no means felt extra depressing. I couldn’t open my eyes. I put one thing over my face, and I couldn’t even sleep. My physique simply damage,” she mentioned. “I [could] barely breathe after I cough; it’s like I can’t cease coughing sufficient to inhale.”
Dean Hart, a microbiologist and knowledgeable in virus transmission, says there’s a excessive probability the coronavirus swept by way of the internationally famend competition as a result of the lockdown in Wuhan, China — floor zero for the outbreak — didn’t occur till after the occasion had began.
“Logic dictates that they likely did have it,” Hart mentioned. “With Sundance, you’ve obtained the proper system for this virus to essentially go to city and contaminate everyone.”
The primary US case of COVID-19 was confirmed Jan. 21 in Washington state, two days earlier than the competition started.