A Missouri citizen who attended a packed Memorial Day pool party last week at the Lake of the Ozarks has tested positive for Covid-19.
The Camden County Health Department posted on Facebook confirming the news, and that the 'case' had been at the pool party at bar Backwater Jacks, as well as a number of other bars and public places.
The post read: "Camden County Health Department has been notified of a Boone County resident who has tested positive for Covid-19 after being in the Lake area on May 23 & 24. The case arrived here on Saturday and developed illness on Sunday, so was likely incubating illness and possibly infectious at the time of the visit.
"Due to the need to inform mass numbers of unknown people, we are publicly releasing the following timeline, which was provided by the case. Investigation is in progress by Boone County Health Department, with Lake Area Health Departments assisting with local contacts.
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"There have been no cases reported in Camden County residents this week."
The owner of the Backwater Jacks bar Gary Prewitt confirmed he had decided to go ahead with the annual party, but said people were tested for their temperature at the door, hand sanitiser was made available for guests and social distancing guidelines were followed.
He said in a statement: "No laws were broken. Social distancing is not a crime."
However, images that emerged online show the event had a huge crowd of people that were not two metres apart.
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Despite a sign urging visitors to keep at least six-feet away from each other, in many of the clips posted online they fail to do so.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson had eased lockdown restrictions in the state, though it was alongside the understanding that some measures, such as social distancing, would be adhered to.
Sharing a video of the busy scenes, CBS reporter Scott Pasmore wrote: "No Covid concerns at the Lake of the Ozarks."
St Louis mayor Lyda Krewson asked anyone who attended the gatherings and failed to social distance to self-quarantine for 14 days, an instruction echoed by the Kansas City Health Director Rex Archer.
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Ms Krewson said: "If you were part of a group that didn't socially distance or wear masks, please, for the health of your family, coworkers and friends, stay home for the next 14 days."
In a statement, County Executive Sam Page said: "This reckless behavior endangers countless people and risks setting us back substantially from the progress we have made in slowing the spread of Covid-19.
"I encourage everyone to follow the Department of Public Health advisory to determine a safe path forward in the workplace."
Featured Image Credit: TwitterTopics: Coronavirus, US News
