SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Officials at a Texas hospital say a 30-year-old man died after being infected with the coronavirus at a “COVID-19” party, according to reports.
Dr. Jane Appleby, medical director of Methodist Hospital, says in a video posted by the hospital that the man attended a party organized by a person who was already infected with the virus, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The man’s identity has not been released due to privacy laws, reports ABC News.
“I think I made a mistake,” the man told a nurse, according to Appleby. “I thought this was a hoax, but it is not.”
Appleby did not share details about when and where the party took place, the New York Times reports. The Times says COVID parties are held as a test to see if the virus is real or as an attempt to gain immunity.
But Appleby says history shows that the virus can be dangerous for everyone, even for younger people. Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, tells the Times that the holidays are “dangerous, irresponsible, and life-threatening.”
The Times also reports that there are questions about whether the COVID parties are really happening and that the infections could be from regular meetings.
Texas is battling a significant increase in coronavirus infections, with the state reporting more than 8,000 new cases on Sunday and 80 deaths, reports CBS News. More than 10,000 people are hospitalized.
