Miami gay festival, the Winter Party Festival, drew thousands from across the country and several have now tested positive to Coronavirus.
The annual gay event which is a weeklong LGBTQ festival held in Miami earlier this month and in the week following the event several attendees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to festival organizers.
“We know there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed, but we wanted to make this information public as soon as possible,” Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, which organized the festival, said in a statement Monday. “The health and safety of anyone who participates in any Task Force event is of great importance to us.”
The Winter Party Festival began March 4 and drew 10,000 attendees throughout the week, ended March 10.
Carey emphasized that event organizers “made the most informed decision at the time, following all official guidance available at the time” and additional precautions were taken during the festival, 10,000 hand sanitizer bottles and hygiene information were distributed to attendees.
Although the number of attendees that tested positive to COVID-19 were not confirmed, Carey said;
“We are monitoring the situation but the real story here is that millions of people across the country would like to get tested and the government has not done its job to make testing available.”
“We hope that as people do get tested, they contact those with whom they have been in direct contact with and seek medical attention if necessary.”
