Huge ‘pong fest’ party exposes hundreds of teens to COVID-19 in Texas, officials say
Hundreds of teens partying at a large gathering last weekend in Texas were exposed to COVID-19, officials say.
About 300 high school students attended a “pong fest” party near Lakeway, Texas, on Saturday, officials say. Lakeway Mayor Sandy Cox predicts it will lead to more coronavirus cases in a state slammed with record-breaking hospitalizations this week.
“Unfortunately, our caseload is probably going to increase, and it’s because there was a very large party this past Saturday,” Cox said in a Facebook video.
The party was at an unspecified location in Travis County on June 20, according to a news release. Austin Public Health is investigating.
Teens awaiting test results went to the party and later received positive results, officials say.
“The city is trying to get a handle on who attended, and the numbers are so big, contact tracing everyone is not possible,” Cox said, according to Community Impact Newspaper “Hopefully we can contain this. The worst thing that can happen is that we don’t contain this.”
Everyone who attended is instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days. Additionally, anyone who has come into contact with people at the party must isolate themselves for two weeks.
“The virus often hides in the healthy and is given to those who are at grave risk of being hospitalized and dying,” Austin Public Health officials said, according to the Associated Press. “While younger people are at less risk for complications, they are not immune to severe illness and death from COVID-19.”
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