Barack Obama 60th birthday bash: Will guests have to be masked and vaccinated?
After months of decline in the number of cases, the Covid-19 infection rate is once again spiking in the US. But even as this is unfolding, former US President Barack Obama is gearing up for his upcoming 60th birthday bash.
It is scheduled to take place in Martha's Vineyard, a Massachusetts island. The former president, as per sources who spoke to The Hill, has spent recent weeks at his home on the posh island. He is expected to be joined by dozens of friends at his oceanside abode, set on nearly 30 acres. The Obamas’ home in Martha’s Vineyard is reportedly a seven-bedroom, nearly 7,000-foot mansion. The former First Family purchased this getaway spot for $11.75 million in 2019.
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“It's going to be big,” said one source. The source said many A-listers and friends of the Obamas, including Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney, have been invited to the party. Obama turns 60 on August 4. But all of this coincides with steadily spiking Covid-19 numbers across the country. So, what are the rules for the guests? As per The Hill, guests have been asked to have a COVID-19 test before attending the soiree. So far nothing has been reported about whether or not guests are required to be vaccinated.
Of course, both Barack and Michelle Obama have encouraged citizens to get their shot. "When you can get the Covid-19 vaccine, I hope you do—Barack and I are certainly glad we did," Michelle Obama said earlier this year. "It's our best shot at beating this virus, looking out for one another, and getting back to some of the things we miss. Getting vaccinated will save lives—and that life could be yours."
"Michelle and I got vaccinated against Covid-19 because we know it's the best way to beat this pandemic, protect one another, and get the country back up and running again," the former president had said as well. "So I hope you'll get the vaccine as soon as it's available to you. It could save your life." As per a new NBC News report, nationwide, the four-week Covid-19 case count more than doubled as of Monday. July 26, from the previous four weeks. While cases are rising everywhere because of higher transmission levels of the delta variant, the report noted, “the steepest increases have been in the South and Southeast, where Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina are dealing with the biggest outbreaks in the nation.”
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday, July 25, that the country is in an “unnecessary predicament” at this point in the pandemic, and that “We’re going in the wrong direction.” Fauci, like CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, said that most infections have occurred in the country’s unvaccinated population. “It is really a pandemic among the unvaccinated, so this is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,” said Fauci.
