A group of men hugging at the Winter Party Festival on Miami Beach. At least one attendee in 2020 acquired the coronavirus, according to organisers. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A guest at the annual LGBT+ fundraiser Winter Party Festival – packed with more than 10,000 queer attendees – in Florida has tested positive for coronavirus, organisers said Sunday.
From March 4 to 10, Miami Beach heaves with parties, bops and a lot of six-packs all in an effort to raise money for local LGBT+ causes.
However, circuit party organisers took to Instagram to confirm that an attendee was diagnosed with the disease last week but showed no symptoms.
As a result, they said, attendees were implored to “monitor their health, practice social distancing, wash hands with soap, use hand sanitizer and contact their doctor if they think they are exhibiting symptoms.
https://t.co/LOAUXgVSPG pic.twitter.com/qZRrL6MwjD
— michael (@mcsteamworks) March 16, 2020
Winter Party Festivals come forward as coronavirus carriers.
Moreover, a Twitter user claimed that a “cluster” of participants have since tested positive for COVID-19. In a string of tweets, the user said he has “one case confirmed directly, four other cases notified through friends” who have tested for the virus.
Another user then claimed that he alongside a friend who hit the party have both tested positive for the coronavirus strain.
I was there. Started having symptoms Friday, got tested today. My friend who was there too tested positive today. Stay at home, people.
— Ben (@brevit) March 16, 2020
But the saga of the party becoming a petri dish for COVID-19 captures the perils of group gatherings in the age of the coronavirus. Demonstrating how quickly the delicate but deadly virus can spread.
In a quick cascade of developments, Pride parades and even DragCon LA have shuttered as fear mixes with paranoia during the pandemic.
Scientists across the world have scrambled to source a vaccine for the virus which started in the Wuhan province of China. As of Monday, more than 175,000 have acquired COVID-19 and nearly 6,700 people have died.
In the panicked race to flatten surging cases, many health authorities are testing HIV treatments to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Some have even reported success, but exercise extreme caution at proclaiming it a “cure”.
Delicate and bristled with spikes, the coronavirus strain that is choking the world first emerged in December 2019 and was tracked down to Wuhan’s busy seafood and livestock market.
COVID-19 quickly spread beyond China to France, Germany, Japan, the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the UAE, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Canada and Nepal.