Despite COVID-19 cases soaring in recent weeks, due much in part to the highly contagious delta variant that has the U.S. averaging over 100,000 new cases per day, former President Barack Obama went forward with his celebrity-laden birthday party in Massachusetts on Saturday. A few photos and videos were leaked out to the public from the swanky soirée, which show a maskless Obama dancing with his guests, who also did not wear face coverings.
Obama’s birthday bash was held in massive tents on his spacious estate in Martha’s Vineyard in Dukes County, which was designated as a “high transmission” area for COVID-19 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High transmission communities fall under the CDC’s updated guidance recommending that masks be worn indoors, even by people who are fully vaccinated.
Singer Erykah Badu was performing at the former president’s 60th birthday party, but managed to record a video of maskless Obama dancing with a woman and other attendees who were not wearing face coverings. Badu uploaded the video to Instagram, but then quickly deleted it. But she didn’t manage to delete it quick enough and the footage was shared online.
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