These stories of naysayers getting COVID and then wondering how they got it are infuriating. It’s one thing for them to say “oops, I guess I got sick” is tragically unfair to the people who need the health care system they overwhelm and the innocent people they spread it to in their communities:
At least one person has been hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending an indoor Christmas dance party hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club earlier this month, the Eagle has learned.
James Trent, chair of the affiliated Queens Village Republican Club, was admitted to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where he is recovering from COVID-19, he said from his hospital room Wednesday morning.
Trent said he first began experiencing COVID symptoms two days after attending the Dec. 9 party, which featured a conga line of maskless patrons dancing to the BeeGees in a widely viewed video first reported by the Eagle.
Trent said he was surprised that he got COVID after attending the party because he “wasn’t doing anything risky.”
“I wasn’t on the conga line. I ate by myself,” he said. “I don’t know how I got this.”
When asked whether he regretted attending the party, Trent said it was an “interesting question.”
“It was a wonderful time and a great party, but I’m not happy I got sick,” he said.
Video of the Dec. 9 event shows about 50 attendees in an indoor catering room, with numerous maskless patrons on the dance floor at Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck. Former Queens Assembly candidate James Martinosky and current City Council candidate Vickie Paladino led the conga line through the crowd.
Only one attendee in the video appears to be wearing a mask as dancers go sans face covering in violation of COVID rules at the time.
Trent said he thought he “had a cold and then the flu” until he lost his sense of taste following the party. He went to the hospital because he lives alone and was afraid of growing more sick, he said. He was admitted but is in stable condition and expects to be released Thursday, he said.
Another attendee and his wife also tested positive for COVID-19 after the event, according to three people familiar with the couple. They have not yet responded to phone calls seeking comment, so the Eagle is withholding their names.
I hope that silly party was worth it to them. I just hope they didn’t participate in the spread of the virus to someone who didn’t have the choice.
It’s Happy Hollandaise time here at Hullabaloo. If you’d like to drop a little something in the old Christmas stocking you can do so here (or at the P.O. box shown in the sidebar):