Roughly 300 teens were exposed to the novel coronavirus after attending a not-so-secret and seriously irresponsible “pong fest” party in Lakeway, Texas late last month.
According to the Austin Public Health Department, several attendees were waiting on their COVID-19 testing results, but decided to attend the large gathering on June 20, anyway. And guess what, y’all? They later found out they were positive for the virus! Ugh…
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In an official statement on the outbreak, APHD urged young people to understand the severity of the pandemic and make smarter, healthier choices going forward:
“The virus often hides in the healthy and is given to those who are at grave risk of being hospitalized or dying. While younger people have less risk for complications, they are not immune to severe illness and death from COVID-19. Since we are in a period of significant community spread, our entire community should act as if they have been exposed and take the proper precautions to further prevent spread.”
Lakeway Mayor Sandy Cox also spoke out about the party in a Facebook Live session on Thursday, where she warned that the state, which is already seeing an enormous spike in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, could see numbers rise exponentially due to the clear violation of social distancing mandates:
“Unfortunately, our case load is probably going to increase, and it’s because there was a very large party this past Saturday [June 20], and it was with a number of high school students, and there were students in attendance that were positive for COVID-19.”
In the full clip (below), Cox urged anyone who was at the party to “isolate for 14 days” and get tested immediately if they are experiencing any symptoms:
Seriously, what is wrong with people?! There are so many other positive things you could be doing with your free time…
Now, essential hospital workers will have to deal with the aftermath of this reckless and selfish decision. Not to mention, every single person who has come in contact with the partygoers — including their friends and family members — is at risk for contracting the coronavirus. Were the beer pong accolades really worth it when the state has seen over 174,000 cases and 2,518 deaths related to the virus? With 128 of those confirmed deaths coming from the very county where the party went down? We think not.
Unfortunately, breaking the rules is becoming a trend across the country. According to an ABC News report published on July 1, Alabama students have been throwing “COVID parties” to see who gets infected. That has to be the most disturbing “contest” we’ve ever heard of… Wow!
At this rate, stay-at-home orders will return and be enforced before you know it — and with good reason!
As a reminder, social distancing, wearing a face mask in public, and washing hands often are all strongly encouraged by health experts to help prevent the spread of the virus. Hopefully, people will start to listen!
[Image via 21 and Over/YouTube]
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