Politicians Confront A Virus Super-Spreader They Can’t Contain: House Parties

TOPLINE

As the virus rages in southern and western America, politicians are joining health officials in sounding the alarm about house parties as potential super-spreaders, even as they confront the reality they hold few tools to prevent them from happening.

KEY FACTS

Crucial quote

“A lot of what we’re seeing I think with the younger people if they’re partying at somebody’s house or something is they’re probably not wearing masks, let’s just be honest,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. 

Key background

Young people are now accounting for a much larger number of coronavirus infections across the United States While health officials say young people are at far less risk of developing severe symptoms from coronavirus, they pose a major problem because they can unknowingly spread the virus to the elderly, who die at much higher rates.

Tangent

In March, the New York Times reported about a house party in Westport, Connecticut, that epidemiologists say may have been at the center of the state’s initial Covid outbreak. 

Further reading

House parties are ‘the most dangerous things,’ a South Florida mayor tells his city (Miami Herald)

Florida mayor urges people to forgo “private house parties” (Axios) 

Florida, Arizona, Nevada, South Carolina: All Count Record-Breaking Number Of Coronavirus Infections, Again (Forbes)

The Coronavirus Surge in Florida, Arizona, Texas Isn’t the Same as New York’s Crisis (Wall Street Journal)

Party Zero: How a Soirée in Connecticut Became a ‘Super Spreader’ (New York Times)