Alabama city officials have confirmed that college students in Tuscaloosa are throwing parties for celebrating the novel coronavirus outbreak. College goers throwing these 'COVID parties' are inviting infected people with the virus and gambling on who catches the disease first.
Sonya McKinstry, the City Councilor of Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, reported this practice to ABC New. "They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID. Whoever gets COVID first takes the pot," she said. She further stated that although it is a challenging task, the concerned authorities are trying to investigate the root of these parties and bust any party they get to know about.
McKinstry noted, "I think when you're dealing with the mind frame of people who are intentionally doing stuff like that and they're spreading it intentionally, how can you truly fight something that people are constantly trying to promote?"
The party occurrences were first reported on Tuesday by the city's fire chief Randy Smith, stated WBMA. Smith said, "Not only did the doctor's offices help confirm it, but the state confirmed they had the same information." He further added that initially, the news of these parties inviting 'known positive' cases was considered as a rumor.
However, officials have not stated the names of the colleges or students who attended these parties. The biggest school in Tuscaloosa is The University of Alabama. The university has said that it plans to begin in-person classes from next fall.
Alabama has more than 38,000 confirmed cases including 2,049 cases in Tuscaloosa County, as of Thursday. 947 people have succumbed to the virus in the state. Any resident in Alabama who has tested positive for the virus are directed to 14 days quarantined. Any illegal breaking of the order can incur a fine of $500 USD.
Health care officials have already stated that the state might run out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds as 82% of the total ICU bed are already engaged.
