MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Video all over social media of a large party in East Memphis has many concerned with the COVID case numbers surging across Shelby County.
The video shows a crowd Saturday night at the Curtis Givens ‘All Black Affair’ at the In Love Memphis night club in East Memphis. Despite the party being held outside, the video shows hundreds not wearing masks, let alone social distancing.
Local 24 News spoke with Dr. Minoj Jain, an infectious disease physician who sits on Shelby County’s Covid-19 task force who says it’s frustrating to see so many gathered when there are thousands dying daily from this virus.
"I'm astounded by what I'm seeing. It's just unbelievable. I cannot believe that people are not realizing that these events, these parties are super-spreader events. We know that the virus is spreading very rapidly in that young age group," said Dr. Jain. Other elected officials, including County Commissioner Tami Sawyer have also expressed dismay over what they saw.
Dr. Jain said he believes these kinds of events will continue to be a problem as more people suffer from what’s become known as ‘COVID fatigue’.
Local 24 News has reached out to the party's organizer, Curtis Givens. So far, he has not responded.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris sent this statement to Local 24 News Monday: “Shelby County is in the midst of a surge in the number of cases of COVID-19. It would be hard to think of a worse time to let our guard down. I implore the attendees to get tested and, above all, avoid going around older relatives or others who have respiratory issues, until they are certain that they are not carrying this disease. Additionally, investigations into any reports about businesses that organized any event that put our community at increased risk are in process and I expect that will be completed shortly.”