According to ClickOrlando, the Sheriff Russ Gibson of Osceola County, Florida is warning that multiple gated communities are facing a threat from large "COVID-19 parties" being organized by out-of-towners renting vacation homes — and the residents are "living a life of terror right now."
"They’re ... actually getting together and they’re trying to mingle to potentially spread the virus amongst each other if they’re asymptomatic or whatever the case might be," said Gibson. The gatherings are reportedly large enough to block traffic and cause noise complaints, and police have been forced to disperse the crowds on multiple occasions.
Gibson added of the partiers, "a lot of times, we’ve been finding out that there are people here that are unsavory people that you wouldn’t want in your neighborhoods. There are some gangs, that are renting these houses, and they’re coming here to Osceola County. And this is something that we have to protect our residents with."
COVID parties have been reported in a number of other states, including Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas. At least one person who attended one of these parties in San Antonio has died.
Florida is seeing an explosion of cases after Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ally of President Donald Trump, rolled back state safety measures.
