Dozens of people attended a party for first responders in Los Angeles without wearing masks or ... [View all]

Dozens of people attended a party for first responders in Los Angeles without wearing masks or social distancing

The party, according to a spokeswoman for the Hollywood bar, was meant to be a mix of first responders as a way to celebrate their profession. CNN was tipped off to the event by a source with direct knowledge of the party, who was told it would involve 100 to 150 law enforcement personnel at Sassafras Saloon.

Attendees entered through the back door, where a small desk with a candle greeted them outside. The owners of the Sassafras Saloon rented the bar out to someone who wanted to "honor a group of first responders," according to Lisa Strangis, a spokeswoman for 1933 Group, which owns the bar on North Vine St.Strangis was unwilling to name which agency the first responders belonged to.

"Everybody is either family or works at the same place so that's why we don't have Covid concerns," said a man who spoke to CNN outside the bar Friday night. "They micro-group or whatever with each other and everyone's been tested and everything. That's why we all know that everyone in there is cool." The man, who declined to identify himself, claimed, "Everybody's spaced there. Everybody's wearing things. Everybody's getting temperature checks."
CNN did not observe any of that occurring.

The event took place as California surpassed 500,000 cases of Covid-19 -- the highest number of cases for any US state, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. As of Sunday, more than 9,300 people in the state had died since the start of the pandemic.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/us/los-angeles-first-responders-covid-party/index.html