You might want to cut back on socializing for the next couple of weeks

Two weeks ago, on Monday, July 25, I attended a send-off party for StartupBus Florida. Despite being in an open-air location on a breezy evening (there was a thunderstorm later that night), five people who were there ended up sick and testing positive for COVID.

Here’s a photo that shows how open-air the party location, The Sail, is:

I’d hoped that an open-air location would reduce the odds of anyone catching the latest COVID variant, which was proving to be very contagious. Here in Florida, the incoming reported cases had remained steady since the beginning of the summer:

Most of us were there for about two and a half hours. Near the end of the gathering, one of the guests mentioned that they’d started their throat had started feeling scratchy and they were feeling a little ill, and I suggested that they go home and test themselves.

And as a result, 5 people got sick. Two tested positive the following day, another got ill a couple of days later, and another a couple of days after that.

My recommendation: You might want to cut back on socializing in larger groups for the next couple of weeks.