(CNN) – A video Posted by a reporter shows partygoers huddled in a pool at Lake Ozarks, Missouri, this weekend leading up to Memorial Day in United States.
Scott Pasmore, host of CNN affiliate KTVK, shot the video at Backwater Jacks Bar & Grill in Osage Beach on Saturday.
The meeting violates social distancing measures aimed at limiting the spread of covid-19. As part of the Missouri reopening plan announced earlier this month, state officials said restaurants may offer food services, but must comply with social distancing and other preventive public health measures.
Jodi Akins of Blue Springs told CNN in a message that she visited the bar with four friends for a pool party on Saturday.
“When we entered, my first words were‘ Oh my gosh ’! It was intense! Social distancing was non-existent. However, everyone was having fun. It was a very carefree environment but security was tight! ”He wrote to CNN.
Akins said the bar took some security precautions.
“They checked the temperature of all of us and they had thousands of little bottles of hand sanitizer! They did a good job with everything they had to do! ”He wrote.
The bar posted on Facebook that this was the launch of a summer party called “Zero Ducks Given Pool Party”. He promoted various DJs and bands that would perform throughout the event.
“The place has worked with and taken the advice of government officials and management teams and will follow the guidelines of social distancing. Additional precautions and security measures will be taken to provide a safe environment for you to enjoy the event, ”said the bar.
The bar said it would be operating at reduced capacity, attendees would be continually cleaning and sanitizing toilets, plus there would be a paramedic on staff for the duration of the event.
It is not likely that the coronavirus It spreads in water, according to the CDC, but it is spread through people close to it. Staying at least 2 meters away from others is particularly important in swimming pools or beaches because masks are not practical in the water.
For example, several people who attended a high school swimming party in neighboring Arkansas contracted covid-19, Governor Asa Hutchinson said Saturday.
Great attendance was expected
Lake of the Ozarks was expecting huge turnout this weekend after a late start to the season due to the pandemic, according to CNN affiliate KTVI.
“It’s supposed to be one of the busiest Memorial Day weekends we’ve seen on the lake here in years,” Bill Morgan, manager of Robins Resort at Lake of the Ozarks, told KTVI earlier this week.
Adam Kirk lives in Osage Beach, Missouri, and shot a video with a drone showing the amount of boat traffic on Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
“It definitely looks more (traffic) than the last year,” he said. “It seems that everyone is having the same idea, come to the lake to enjoy the summer, because you can practice social distancing at the same time.”
Approximately 11,800 people in Missouri have tested positive for coronavirus and about 680 have died of covid-19 infection, according to state data.
Ed Yong, a writer for The Atlantic, cautioned that overcrowded pools may not represent the most common attitude among the American public toward social distancing.
“It is much more compelling to show people flocking to a public space than to show me, for example, sitting at home and following the guidelines,” he said. “However, the latter probably reflects more what most Americans are doing.”
More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned that the reopening of their respective states is going too fast, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center.
CNN’s Fenly Foxen contributed to this report.
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