Alabama Students Throwing ‘COVID Parties’ to See Who Gets Infected First

Well, this is smart.

Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, have been attending parties in the city and surrounding area as part of a messed up contest to see who can catch the virus first, a city council member told ABC News.

Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students have been organizing “COVID parties” as a game to intentionally infect each other with the virus that has killed more than 127,000 people in the United States. She said she recently found out about the behavior and informed the city council of the parties happening in the city.

She said the organizers of the parties are purposely inviting guests who have COVID-19.

“They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID. Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot. It makes no sense,” McKinstry said. “They’re intentionally doing it.”

Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Randy Smith told the City Council that he has, in fact, confirmed the students’ careless and selfish behavior.

“We thought that was kind of a rumor at first,” Smith told the council members. “We did some research. Not only do the doctors’ offices confirm it but the state confirmed they also had the same information.”

In his presentation, Smith, who wore a face mask, did not say what is being done to stop the behavior or what schools the students were from. Tuscaloosa is the seventh-largest city in Alabama and home to The University of Alabama, as well as several other colleges.

Just hours after Smith’s briefing, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring people to wear face coverings when out in public.

This news comes as coronavirus cases continue to surge across the United States. Infectious disease specialists also say they are seeing “more and more” complications with Covid-19 in young people, including lifelong lung damage