(Photo Credits: Screengrab from Winter Party Festival’s YouTube Account)

A guest of the Winter Party Festival (WPF) has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the festival’s official page on Instagram. Winter Party Festival—which was held earlier this month from March 4 to 10, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida—is an annual queer music festival produced by the National LGBTQ Task Force for the purpose of raising money for the LGBTQ+ community. The festival attracts thousands of attendees from various parts of the country every year.  

Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, said in a statement, “We know there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed, but we wanted to make this information public as soon as possible. The health and safety of anyone who participates in any Task Force event is of great importance to us.” 

According to NBC News, Carey said in a statement that event organizers “made the most informed decision at the time, following all official guidance available at the time.” Carey added that they also took steps to ensure the safety of their attendees by posting educational posters throughout WPF venues and by giving out 10,000 hand sanitizers to their attendees. Carey then concluded her statement by encouraging WPF attendees to contact their doctor and to get tested for coronavirus if they think they are exhibiting symptoms.

View this post on Instagram

Greetings Winter Party Guests, I am writing to let you know that on Saturday night (the 14th), I was informed that one of our Winter Party Festival (WPF) guests has tested positive for COVID-19 this last week. We are grateful to them for alerting us, particularly given that they were not experiencing symptoms during WPF. While we know there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed, we wanted to make sure you have this information as soon as possible. The health and safety of anyone who participates in any Task Force event is of great importance to us. Information and circumstances have changed rapidly since WPF. We continue to encourage all WPF guests to monitor their health, practice social distancing, wash hands with soap, use hand sanitizer and contact their doctor if they think they are exhibiting symptoms. If you test positive for COVID-19, please contact those you were in direct contact with so they can take steps to monitor their health and speak with their doctors. More information from the CDC can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Given what we knew at the time about the virus prior to WPF and working with local Miami Beach officials, we took steps to ensure the safety of attendees. The educational posters throughout WPF venues and 10,000 hand sanitizers we distributed over the weekend were both appreciated and utilized by attendees. Again, please take care of yourselves and if you test positive for COVID-19 in the couple of weeks, please feel free to email me at [email protected] – Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force

A post shared by Winter Party Festival (@winterparty) on

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incubation period of COVID-19 ranges from 1 to 14 days although symptoms most commonly manifest around five days. The “incubation period” is defined by WHO as “the time between catching the virus and beginning to have symptoms of the disease.”

As of this writing, the total coronavirus cases are now 239,896 around the world with 9,953 deaths while 86,682 of these patients are said to have recovered. Check here and here for the latest information on COVID-19 in your country. Celebrities, athletes, and high-profile people the likes of Prince Albert II of Monaco, Sophie Trudeau, Olga Kurylenko, “Frozen 2” actress Rachel Matthews, Idris Elba, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, The “Game of Thrones” actors Indira Varma and Kristofer Hivju, Chelsea Football Club player Callum Hudson-Odoi, The Utah Jazz basketball players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, and Francis Suarez—the mayor of Miami, Florida—have all tested positive for COVID-19.

Social distancing is encouraged during this time, guys, meaning that we must stay at home as much as possible so going out and attending a large gathering such as WPF is a no-no. To learn more about social distancing, self-quarantining, and self-isolation, read here while you may check here for the things that we can do while at home during the COVID-19 crisis.

Keep safe and stay healthy, guys!

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