A patient in their 30s died from COVID-19 after attending a so-called "COVID Party," reports San Antonio NBC affiliate WOAI.
A San Antonio health official told the television station that people attend the parties to see if the coronavirus is real.
"This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected," said Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer of Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio.
WOAI reported Appleby said the patient came to a realization right before their death.
"Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said 'I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it's not,'" Appleby said.
Appleby said she made this specific case public to warn young people that no one is invincible.
"I don't want to be an alarmist, and we are just trying to share some real-world examples to try and help our community realize that this virus is very serious and can spread easily," Appleby said.
