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Tags: pandemic | elderly | fatalities | colorado | bridge

4 Dead, Dozens Hospitalized From Colorado Bridge Tourney

bridge enthusiasts play
( Mario Tama/Getty Images)

By    |   Tuesday, 31 March 2020 09:41 PM EDT

The infamous Colorado bridge tournament attended by a COVID-19 positive player has turned deadly, scaring the club that features players with an average age of 72.

Thus far the club has seen four deaths and dozens hospitalized, according to BuzzFeed News, as the global coronavirus pandemic has been most fatal to elderly and vulnerable members of society that might have weakened immune systems.

"I saw her over the course of the tournament," Jeffrey Rapp told BuzzFeed of his friend, an 82-year-old woman who was the first to test positive. "She was happy and competitive and in good spirits. Not symptomatic. And a few days later, she's dead."

The tournament was held Colorado Springs Bridge Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Feb. 29. More than 20 of the 150 players at the two-day tournament have been hospitalized, per the report.

"It's frightening," Rapp told BuzzFeed. "So many people I’ve been playing bridge with for so many years, in some cases people I've known for 40 or 50 years, have wound up in the hospital. As you might suspect, some of our players are in their 80s and 90s. They are in the most susceptible demographic. These are older people who are looking to have a good time with what they have left of their lives."

Two of the deceased were over 80 years old and the other two had chronic health conditions, according to John Dukellis, a bridge teach who is a director at the club.

"People are scared," he told BuzzFeed News.

All told, Colorado has seen around 3,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 69 deaths to date, according to Worldometer, which culls data from Johns Hopkins University and recent media reports.

Eric Mack

Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.

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The infamous Colorado bridge tournament attended by a COVID-19 positive player has turned deadly, scaring the club that features players with an average age of 72....
pandemic, elderly, fatalities, colorado, bridge
284
2020-41-31
Tuesday, 31 March 2020 09:41 PM
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