N.Y. Man Hospitalized With COVID-19 After Attending GOP Membership’s ‘Covid Conga Line’ Social gathering

A New York man has been hospitalized with COVID-19 after attending an indoor vacation occasion hosted by a neighborhood Republican membership that made headlines earlier this month, the Queens Every day Eagle reported Wednesday.

James Trent, chair of an affiliate membership, reportedly started experiencing signs of an infection two days after attending the Dec. 9 occasion. He’s recovering on the North Shore College Hospital in Manhasset on Lengthy Island, and stated he can be discharged Thursday morning. 

Trent expressed shock he caught the virus after the bash as a result of he “wasn’t doing something dangerous,” he advised the Eagle.

“I wasn’t on the conga line. I ate on my own,” he stated. “I don’t understand how I bought this.”

In a viral video from the Whitestone Republican Membership’s occasion, greater than a dozen folks have been seen dancing a conga line with out masks or social distancing. Each the membership and the proprietor of the venue, an Italian restaurant referred to as Il Bacco, insisted they adopted COVID-19 tips that have been in place on the time.

Trent is chairman of the Queens Village Republican Membership. He couldn’t be reached by HuffPost for remark.

Requested if he regretted attending the occasion, he advised the Eagle it was a “great time and an important occasion, however I’m not glad I bought sick.”

One other couple that went to the occasion has additionally examined constructive, in line with the Eagle.

The Whitestone Republican Membership didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.

The occasion was held 5 days earlier than New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) shuttered indoor eating amid an explosion in COVID-19 circumstances within the state and nationwide. New York has had a masks mandate in place for public settings since April.

A Metropolis Corridor official stated final week that the occasion would lead to “important fines” and that “we’re taking a look at each the group that held the occasion and the institution that hosted it.”

Cuomo additionally addressed the video, saying the “covid conga line” was “not sensible.”

Underneath fireplace, the membership posted statements on Fb final week denying wrongdoing and accusing the media and Cuomo of overreacting.

“However we aren’t the masks police, nor are we the social distancing police. Adults have absolutely the proper to make their very own selections and clearly many selected to work together like regular people and never paranoid zombies in hazmat fits,” the assertion stated.