coronavirus pandemic

National Cheerleading Competition Could Become Super-Spreader Event: Officials Warn

Event organizers have set up strict protocols to mitigate risk of COVID-19

Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to Atlanta this weekend for the annual Cheersports Nationals cheerleading competition, raising concern among public health officials that the contest could become a coronavirus super-spreader event.

“The fear is that these people will gather and then take the variant home with them to their communities and plant the seed," Dr. Amber Schmidtke, a public health microbiologist, told NBC affiliate 11Alive.

Event organizers have set up strict protocols to mitigate risk of COVID-19, which has infected more than 951,000 people in Georgia and killed at least 15,421 people, according to NBC News counts.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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