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Coronavirus-positive students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama have been attending parties. And why? Because they’re taking part in a disturbing trend to see who can catch the virus first.
On Wednesday, Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry spoke with ABC News. She said students have been throwing “COVID parties” as a contest to intentionally infect one another. She only recently learned of the behavior. As a result, she informed the city council about what is going on.
In other words, the students throwing the parties are actively seeking coronavirus-positive guests.
“They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID. Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot. It makes no sense,” said McKinstry. “They’re intentionally doing it.”
On Tuesday, the Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Randy Smith said that he has confirmed the student’s behavior. He briefed the city council of his findings, “where students, or kids, would come in with a known positive.”
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While speaking to the city council, Smith admitted they thought it was just a rumor at first. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
“We thought that was kind of a rumor at first,” said Smith. “We did some research. Not only do the doctors’ offices confirm it but the state confirmed they also had the same information.”
As a result, the city council unanimously passed an ordinance. The ordinance requires that people wear face coverings while out in public. As for the parties, it isn’t known whether the students have actually infected anyone who attended them.
McKinstry told ABC News that “we’re trying to break up any parties that we know of.” She noted that the students are obviously disregarding guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s nonsense,” said McKinstry. “But 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?”
A city spokesman, Richard Rush, says that the city “is currently working with local agencies and organizations to ensure that we do everything in our power to fight this pandemic.”
However, the students should be careful. When people tend to file things like a talcum powder cancer lawsuit, it wouldn’t be unheard of for people to do the same for intentional coronavirus parties.
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