super spreader event

No sooner had we come to grips with the concept of the super spreader, that person who manages to infect many more people than is the norm, than we realised that it was not just particular individuals that we had to watch. Certain gatherings could spread the virus in a fashion that was spectacular and these came to be called super spreader events.  Sporting matches with tens of thousands of spectators did precisely this before people became aware of it and rushed to ban them.  There was a soccer match between Atalanta and Valencia in Milan which 40,000 people attended, many of them travelling from Spain and Bergamo, that is thought to be the reason why both Spain and northern Italy suddenly became epicentres of the virus.  

In Australia the release of the passengers on the cruise ship Ruby Princess in Sydney caused a chain of infection.  There have been other events, at beaches or festive occasions, that may also be responsible for an acceleration of COVID-19 cases.  We have yet to see what effect the voting for the council elections in Queensland will have.