BARACK Obama has been slammed for planning his 60th birthday party with nearly 500 guests despite a surge in Delta coronavirus cases.
The former president is reported to be hosting the outdoor event in Martha’s Vineyard next weekend with attendees asked to take a Covid test and be vaccinated.
But the move has sparked concern online that the party could be a “super spreader” event with one Twitter user commenting: “Will they be wearing masks while sipping their champagne?”
Another added: “Obama set to hold Covid Super Spreader Event.”
One said: “The elite do not have to follow the rules they have set for us.”
A spokesperson for the Obamas said: “The guest list includes a large number of family members and friends to mark the occasion.
“The private event will be paid for with the family’s personal funds.”
CELEBRITY GUESTS
It is not known if those in attendance will be required to wear masks.
As well as the 475 confirmed guests, there will also be a reported 200 staff on hand.
Pearl Jam are expected to perform and Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney all expected to attend.
But Joe Biden is not thought to be on the guestlist with a White House spokesperson telling Axios: “While President Biden is unable to attend this weekend, he looks forward to catching up with former President Obama soon and properly welcoming him into the over-sixty club.”
It was a study of nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts, that sparked updated CDC guidelines about Covid.
COVID CONCERNS
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak there concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
That research was key in by the CDC to recommend that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant is fueling infection surges.
The authors said the findings suggest that the CDC’s mask guidance should be expanded to include the entire country, even outside of hot spots.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, had told CNN on Sunday: “If you’re talking about a small party like I might have at my house for six or eight people who are all fully vaccinated, I do not believe, at this point, we need to put masks on to be next to each other.
“But if there were 100 people, and, of course, how are you really going to be sure about people’s vaccination status?”
