So-called COVID parties, where people meet with a person who has the virus to see who may be infected, have been making headlines for weeks. But some health officials and institutions have been forced to back down claims that the parties existed after their respective investigations revealed no evidence.
The University of Alabama tweeted in early July that the school “had been aware of the COVID holiday rumors for weeks,” but after “a thorough investigation,” officials “were unable to identify students who may have participated. in these kinds of activities. ” “
For weeks we have known the rumors about the COVID parties. We carry out an exhaustive investigation, + although we have not been able to identify any student who has participated in this type of activities, we will continue to monitor any information we receive
[1/3]– The Univ. Of Alabama (@UofAlabama) July 2, 2020
In Washington’s Walla Walla County, public health officials had to back down comments after saying in a May press release that they had “received reports of COVID parties in our community” and urged people to stay away. Health officials later said, according to KIRO-TV, that they now believe the parties were innocent meetings.
The recent story of a 30-year-old Texas man who died after attending a COVID-19 party has even been questioned. Dr. Jane Appleby, medical director of Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital, said in an interview with the local San Antonio news station KSAT that the unidentified patient told him nurses about the party. “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it is not, ”she says the patient told a nurse before she died. But New York Times He spoke to contact trackers in San Antonio who said they had no information “to confirm (or deny)” that this party happened. Appleby did not provide additional details to the medium, but said it wanted to share the story to warn others about the dangers of the virus.
While the reports of the COVID parties have been questioned, what is not disputed is that people who test positive for COVID-19 or who have symptoms of the virus go to parties anyway. Thomas Macías, 51, died of the virus in late June after attending a party in California with a friend who had tested positive for COVID-19. Her brother-in-law, Gustavo López, told NBC News that Macías’s friend was aware of his diagnosis when he went to the party, but did not believe that he could infect anyone else because he had no symptoms. And in May, a group of COVID-19 cases was linked to a birthday party in Pasadena, California, where a woman was coughing. “I was joking around with people at the birthday party,” Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, told CNN. “She said, ‘I may have COVID-19,’ and lo and behold.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shared a similar story on Twitter on Tuesday. “Here is a true story about how fast COVID can spread,” he wrote. “At a July 4 party in Suffolk County, at least one person was positive. Since the party, 35% of the people who attended have tested positive for COVID. It only takes one person at a party. Wear a mask and be smart.
Here is a true story about how fast COVID can spread.
At a July 4 party in Suffolk County, at least one person was positive.
Since the party, 35% of the people who attended have tested positive for COVID.
It only takes one person at a party.
Wear a mask and be smart.
– Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 14, 2020
That’s the point that infectious disease experts are also emphasizing. “We still don’t know much about COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and how it spreads,” Dr. David Cennimo, an assistant professor of infectious disease medicine-pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Yahoo Life. . There are questions about whether the virus can be transmitted through the air, something the World Health Organization (WHO) recently said it is investigating. “Small, closed places with a lot of people are risky, and that’s the standard description of a party,” says Cennimo. “I wouldn’t go to a party.”
That should especially be the case for people who test positive for the virus or who have virus symptoms, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life . “If you are positive, even if you have no symptoms, you can transmit the virus,” he says. “You are contagious and you can transmit this virus to other people. And for God’s sake, you should be quarantined and people should be careful not to be around you. “
It is also important to remember that the chain of transmission does not stop at a party. “When someone is infectious and goes anywhere without a mask or is not practicing social distancing, not only can they infect people who they perceive as less vulnerable, but those people come into contact with other people who will infect other people” , said Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and head of infectious diseases at the University of Buffalo, tells Yahoo Life. “It becomes a domino effect.”
Even people who have mild symptoms can have persistent side effects from the virus, making it not so mild after all, Dr. Richard Watkins, an infectious disease doctor and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, told him says to Yahoo Life. “We don’t know the long-term damage that could result,” he says. “People should focus on doing everything possible not to get infected.”
For him coronavirus latest news and updates, follow along https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and immunocompromised people continue to be the most exposed. For questions, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s and From the WHO resource guides.
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