Former President Barack Obama has come under fire for his plans to host nearly 500 people at his Martha's Vineyard mansion for his 60th birthday, despite a nationwide rise in COVID cases.
The former president is set to turn 60 on August 4, and is said to be planning a large soiree at his 7,000-square-foot mansion in the Edgarton section of Martha's Vineyard next weekend.
An official familiar with the plans told Axios that there are now 475 confirmed guests for the party - including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Steven Spielberg - with more than 200 staff members.
All guests will have to be COVID tested and vaccinated, Axios reports, and the party will be held outdoors on the Obama's $12 billion 30-acre waterfront property.
There will also be a 'COVID coordinator' to ensure all proper protocols are being followed, but it remains unclear what proof of a negative COVID test or a vaccine will be required, and whether guests will be required to wear masks.
Former President Barack Obama prepared to play golf with former NBA player Alonzo Mourning on Martha's Vineyard in 2014. He is now planning to hold his 60th birthday there
The party will be held outside the Obamas' 7,000-square-foot home in Edgarton he and former first lady Michelle bought in 2019 for nearly $12 million (pictured)
The party comes just one month after nearby Provincetown saw a surge in coronavirus cases from the July 4 holiday.
The New York Times reports that the community, at the tip of Cape Cod, was crowded with over 60,000 people, many of whom were maskless, during the holiday.
Officials did not worry about it, however, as the community had one of the highest vaccination rates in the state.
But since then, scientists have traced 965 cases to the gatherings, 238 of them involving Provincetown residents.
Fortunately, only seven people were hospitalized and no deaths were reported.
COVID cases have been rising throughout the country as a result of the delta variantf
Deaths, however, have continued on a downward trajectory
About 57 percent of all Americans are now vaccinated against the coronavirus
As a result of the outbreak, scientists discovered that vaccinated people who got breakthrough COVID cases had the same viral load as those who did not get the vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control once again recommended even those who are vaccinated continue wearing their masks indoors in areas with 'high' or 'substantial' spread.
Martha's Vineyard does not qualify as an area of 'high' or 'substantial' risk, but Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has recommended that even vaccinated people wear face masks.
'If you have a serious health condition or risk of developing a severe illness from COVID, you should take extreme precautions,' the governor
