Last Updated: Wednesday, 1:15 p.m.
Palm Coast was the site of a rare Covid-19 “superspreader” event on a single night in late August. It claimed the lives of two people, with a third in hospice, and infected dozens of people, according to Flagler Health Department Chief Bob Snyder.
The superspreader was traced back with near certainty to karaoke night at the Palm Coast Social Club on Aug. 28, where people did not abide by social distancing or mask-wearing rules, and where singers belted song after song, without masks, despite studies that have pointed to such things as choir practice as cause for a disproportionate number of infections.
Snyder first revealead the superspreader on Tuesday in an interview. On Wednesday, he amended the findings, saying one of the two deaths was associated with the same club, but from an earlier event.
“This is actually a pretty dramatic event, it’s almost publishable, it’s that dramatic–50 people from one event, including deaths. It’s really a tragedy,” says Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia health departments and a rigorous analyst of the latest covid-related medical literature. “It’s certainly profound ignorance of the risk. The public may not be aware of what a risk this is. I thought they did, but maybe not. I know that churches are not having singing in their services because of this kind of stuff. I don’t know if people realize it, but karaoke is as bad or worse, because they do it for a long period of time, you’re in a closed space.”
The superspreader is illustrating a growing consensus in scientific tracts about how, in a disproportionate number of cases, a small number of people is responsible for infecting large groups. Getting a better handle on that may help public health and other officials more effectively target the sort of events or situations that cause those larger outbreaks–like social events and gatherings–and thus more strategically or surgically limit those events, or make them more safe, without resorting to more wholesale bans or closures.
“This karaoke thing is a classic example, little old Flagler County has its own superspreading event,” Bickel said. “Most places will never have an event this dramatic.”
The superspreader is contributing to an ongoing spike in Flagler County cases driven by social clubs, K-12 schools and assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Grand Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center and Tuscan Gardens assisted living in Palm Coast both saw large spikes of cases among residents and staff. The school district has confirmed at least 47 cases, between students and staff, since school reopened on Aug. 24 (four days before the superspreader event at the social club), including 20 cases at Old Kings Elementary, 11 at Flagler Palm Coast High School, and seven at Imagine School at Town Center, the charter school.
The spike has resulted in nearly 400 cases since the beginning of the month, and a current positivity rate above 10 percent, ending Flagler County’s long streak as the state’s county with the lowest rate of covid infections, out of 67 counties. The county’s rate of infection in the last seven days places it 39th in the state.
But no spike anywhere in the county approaches the numbers triggered by the superspreader at the social club.
The Social Club of Palm Coast at 51 Old Kings Road North was previously known as the Columbian Club of Flagler County, and the Knights of Columbus before that. It was shut down on Sept. 1 “Due to renovations and deep sanitization,” a note on Facebook, echoed by a note on its front door, states, with no mention of the covid outbreak. The club has hired ServePro to conduct weekly $450-deep cleanings that will continue after its scheduled reopening on Sept. 28.Snyder summed up the toll of the superspreader so far as “dozens of cases, two deaths, one person in hospice, a few hospitalizations, and additional cases are surfacing related to this club.” The counting is not over. “Many members of their club also belong to the Italian American Club, the fishing club and all the other clubs, but we talked to a lot of people, and it all stems back to the event on the 28th.” He added: “No one is singling out anyone. This is what the case investigation, contact tracing revealed, that common link in terms of the whereabouts of the individuals all tracing back to that one karaoke night.”
Other social clubs have continued operating, though April said they are barring entry to members of the Palm Coast Social Club.
A person familiar with events at the Palm Coast Social Club wrote FlaglerLive on Sept. 1 in an alert of what the person had witnessed there during an event for the Disabled American veterans. “The Flagler Sports Fishing Club held a fundraiser for them on August 21 at the Palm Coast Social Club,” the author of the email, who asked not to be identified, wrote. “It was packed — cheek by cheek, maybe 200 people, almost no masks, although people were required to wear them into the building. As soon as they came in, they took them off. I and two other people asked the titular head of the DAV to ask that the organizers make an announcement to keep masks on. A woman refused to do that. She is now dead. She had had symptoms for 10 days, had gone to the Palm Coast Social Club the night before for something (bingo?), and then to this. She checked into the hospital the next day, and has now passed away. Her husband is at Flagler Hospital and prognosis for him is not good.” (FlaglerLive verbally shared the email with Snyder at the time.)
Snyder stressed: “Basically we want to continue to implore this group and other social clubs to please practice social distancing and mask wearing when indoors especially.”
The August 28 event was headlined by Mike Kohn, a popular entertainer. “Come for Dinner, Drinks and Dance,” the club had advertised, $6 for members, $8 for non-members. Social club officials tried to disperse the high number of people at karaoke night, but they wouldn’t disperse. “We opened up the big room and tried to have people go into the big room and they didn’t want to go,” says Gloria April, recently elected secretary of the social club. “They wanted to stay in the smaller area.”
A 69-year-old woman died on Aug. 31 and a 74-year-old man died on Sept. 13 from covid-related infections traced back to the social club events, Snyder said. On Wednesday, Snyder said the 69-year-old woman had not attended the Aug. 28 event, according to her daughter, but had been at Social Club of Palm Coast events in previous days. A Department of Health epidemiologist said that while the department could not confirm it, the account surrounding the DAV event and the subsequent death appears to tie the 69-year-old woman’s death to those events.
That brings Flagler County’s covid-related death tally to 23, not including two or three more individuals who died in Flagler of covid-related causes but were not Flagler residents, in a week when the nation’s covid death toll surpassed 200,000, and Florida’s had exceeded 13,500.
“I know of two people that have passed away but I’m not sure which ones they’re talking about,” April said of the deaths. “I know one of them was in the hospital and was being treated and was not on a blood thinner and threw a clot. The clot is what killed her. She was being treated for Covid, but because she wasn’t on a blood thinner it threw a clot to her heart. She had no underlying conditions that I know of. I had just been talking to her a few hours before. Text messaging.”
“I’m devastated that it’s our club that’s being pushed out there because we were so careful, and it was just this one night that it happened,” April continued. “It could have happened any place, not just ours. I’ve done everything that we can to prevent anything in the future.”
The club has a paid membership of 294 (single members pay $35 for a year’s membership, couples pay $55). It’s not clear how many people were there on karaoke night. The club was supposed to abide by a 50-percent capacity rule, and stresses that “we practice social distancing and face masks here.”
That night, many people did not. “Almost everybody that entered wore a mask,” April said, but once they started eating and drinking, the masks would come off, then patrons would start walking around without masks on, and of course there was the singing. It’s very difficult to get people to keep their mask on,” she said.
Social distancing, too, was an issue. “One table had 12 people at it and she tried to get the people to not sit, to disperse at that table, to bring it down to 6,” April said, referring to a club employee, “I know the governor says 10, or CDC says 10, but people want to sit together. You know, you can’t shoot people.”
When the club reopens, April said, patrons will see a different place, with carpeting removed, tables spread out, and the entire facility sanitized. “The big thing is making people wear their masks and not congregating in big groups,” she said. “We’ve taken it very, very seriously. Some of the other clubs are against us, and we know that, because we had this covid outbreak that we tried to prevent.” She added: “Our number 1 priority is making sure we’re safe for everybody and this outbreak has made us more aware and proactive in making sure it’s a safe environment. I think we’re going to be a safer club than any other club.”
Editor’s Note: Subsequent to the article’s publication, Gloria April issued an email to her membership disputing the accuracy of the account. April’s email is misleading.
It contradicts what she had said during the interview with FlaglerLive. She wrote that “The night was not a Karaoke night it was a night of singing from Action Performance.” In fact, April told FlaglerLive that the event featured Mike Kohn. The club’s own calendar for April lists Kohn for that evening, and Kohn routinely hosts Karaoke nights at the club.
April claims in her email that there were “about 40 people and masks were enforced.” But when asked during the interview how many people there were that evening at the club, she said she wasn’t there, but knew that there was a sizeable enough crowd that, as she noted in the email, the doors to the larger hall were opened and people encouraged to go there. What she does not note in her email but told FlaglerLive was that people refused to go into the larger hall. She also conceded during the interview quite clearly that after coming in with masks, people would take them off not just to eat and drink, but kept them off as they wandered about the club.
April claims the club was notified of just two cases. We are relying on Health Department data, based on contact tracers’ investigations, when reporting the much larger numbers. While the club may have been told of a few numbers initially, the Health Department was still tallying new cases connected to the Social Club of Palm Coast as late as Wednesday.
“The article has done damage to the club reputation but we are strong and will survive this as we have other events in the past,” April wrote her membership. The “damage to the club,” however, is the result of what may be the most serious outbreak of covid-19 in the region since the pandemic began, according to the Health Department, and, as the department’s Bob Snyder repeatedly stressed, the club’s failure to enforce masking and social distancing protocols. While Snyder–and the article–initially tied the entire outbreak to the Aug. 28 event, Snyder has since clarified that, in fact, several events at the social club contributed to the outbreak. The five evenings’ events that week at the club included line dancing on Monday, karaoke with Kohn on Tuesday, poker and trivia on Wednesday, karaoke and line dancing on Thursday, and bingo and Kohn again on Friday.
As one commenter below noted of that Friday, “My Mom was also there that night..sang her first Karoke song ever in her 83 years and was so proud..she got a standing ovation. She’s been in Flagler Advent for almost 3 weeks on highflow heated oxygen and they want to put her on hospice tomorrow. She won’t make it for more that a few hours after they unplug her. Also from living with me..I tested positive also.”
Art F says
Despite April’s comment about being so careful every photo I saw on facebook taken at the club over the past few months, there were no masks and people were hugging and very close. A ticking time bomb that exploded. It’s hard to believe there are so many people out there that just don’t get it!
LetThemEatCake says
What the f’n hockey sticks!! Are this many people amoeba brains? You have a karaoke night…in the middle of an f’n pandemic…with lax social distancing and masks…what EXACTLY did people think the outcome would be? Oh yeah…it’s just a hoax. It’ll fade away. It hardly has affected anyone. It only harms those that would’ve died anyway. Yep…nothing to see here at all.
Sarajane says
They said they tried, obviously not. If patrons refused to comply why aren’t they escorted out. Just my opinion, but if it was me or a family member I would be looking into a liability issue.
Dennis C Rathsam says
What a bunch of selfish people. How stupit can U be? You put the entire community at risk…..What stores did you go to? or what else did you contaminate? I guess U cant fix stupit.
TR says
Nope, not believing it.
Marc says
Me neither. Infection timeline seems to be out of whack.
Rick G says
These people… yes I said these people just don’t get it. Keep inhaling everyone’s droplets and we’ll let the survival of the fittest work for us.
Geno says
My Mom was also there that night..sang her first Karoke song ever in her 83 years and was so proud..she got a standing ovation. She’s been in Flagler Advent for almost 3 weeks on highflow heated oxygen and they want to put her on Hospice tomorrow. She won’t make it for more that a few hours after they unplug her.
Also from living with me..I tested positive also.
Susan says
Prayers love and thoughts goto you and your Mom. I love your mom. She is a very strong lady she will pull through.
Disgusted says
Doesn’t sound like they tried very hard does it? Now so many people are sick and dead. No common sense amongst them it appears. You just can’t fix stupid
tulip says
This is a horrible thing!!!! The owners should be made to shut down the clubs for a long time!! The stupid people who got sick and are now spreading it around even more are disgusting and deserve to suffer. Unfortunately, a lot of innocent people are going to contract it from them. I do not understand why the city of Palm Coast doesn’t mandate and enforce the rules. Now we have the bars open again and no one will obey the rules there either. What a sad scary world this is .
Disgusted with the human race says
This sort of things is the reason why this pandemic will drag on for probably another year. If selfish, inconsiderate people would have just obeyed the guidelines for a short time, worn masks, stayed at home, this pandemic would be on the way out. Now, it will go on and on needlessly. People are too selfish to put up with a short period of discomfort and personal sacrifice to help. They’d rather sit back and watch people dying. It’s disgusting.
Linda says
Your not going to change people’s attitudes towards masks as this event proved! Indoors And singing REALLY! Good grief wake up people 🤬
Bill H says
They will never wake up. The only hope we have is to remove warning labels from everything and let things work themselves out in the gene pool. ;)
Maria says
Wow!!!
D says
Why in the world would this event be allowed.
Tim Burton says
Sounds like Miss Spink and Miss Forcible sang the opry at that theater spreading covid over the audience enjoying their pork and rice…. no thanks!! Godspeed to the infected.. may you have a good immune system – if not please see Janet McDonald, FCSB, she can heal you in a wink.
Not a unicorn says
Palm Coast needs to close this social club down. Servpro can clean up the physical environment but that’s not going to help much since this virus is spread person to person. Eliminate the temptation for those with no self control to get together and spew their germs on each other than take it into our community. These people have no respect for others.
If someone, due to their own willful negligence gives COVID to even one person not in attendance at the club, they should be sued for damages in a court of law.
Too bad Servpro can’t clean up the idiots that were in attendance. Don’t forget to wash Between their ears.
Linda says
Touché
Chris says
Fools.
Flatsflyer says
Did I see multiple Attorneys circling this facility? To have social gatherings with large groups of people is wrong and possibly criminal. Sounds like another Trump rally gone bad, wonder if contract tracing verified that most of the members and attendees are Republicans and follow Trumps advice which daily states the virus is a hoax and does not affect anyone and that 98% recover quickly. Too have gatherings like this to meet mortgage and other operating expenses without regards for members survival is simply wrong,
Al says
Your ignorance is showing once again as there is nothing in this story to kake it a political issue other than your own biases
Justin Case says
Why would you bring up Trump’s name? I’m pretty sure democrats like karaoke as well. Not everything is Trump’s fault. Comments like yours only help to divide, not unite. Quit pushing blame, and try to offer a helpful solution.
Tiki Bar says
Well this virus, like influenza (the flu), is NOT a hoax. On the other hand and if you know how to calculate numbers, the death rate is still LESS THAN ONE PERCENT of the population. ((one percent of 327 million is 327,000)). Even though 200,000 is a lot, it is still less than one percent. And YES some people die, but then in 2018 640,000 people died from the flu…what about that.
What the Social Club of Palm Coast does WRONG is 1) they allow too many people in too small of spaces; like 200 people inside at a time and like 50-60 people in the bar area. 2) they don’t spread out the tables (and remove those that don’t fit) to maintain social distancing. 3) they don’t actually require masks; in fact, it is barely a mild suggestion. If you enter without a mask, no one says anything.
Consider that most of the younger generation and kids don’t wear masks, congregate at parties, and don’t social distance…yet…most of the align with the Democrats. That’s right.
Edith Campins says
You are factually incorrect. According to the official CDC report :
“CDC estimates that influenza was associated with 34,200 deaths during the 2018–2019 influenza season. This burden was similar to estimated burden during the 2012–2013 influenza season.”
Further Democrats don’t hold political rallies with hundreds of people who don’t wear masks and don’t observe social distancing.
TomE says
I know this is older but in case anyone comes across this, let’s correct the misinformation here. The death rate of the corona virus is approximately 2% of the people infected, not a percentage of the population as the whole population has not been infected. Please don’t spread information you do not understand.
Dorotjy Rubino says
You all need to get your act together
This could have happened with the common flu season going on
Panic always panic
And that’s why we will never recover
People love to wear their masks
Now they come in all flavors and all colors and all designs and I hate it
If you know this time last year in the flu season I would have wagered a bet there were more deaths from the flu
And to bring a republican rally into this whole debacle is again a disgrace
There are so many biased people in Palm Coast it makes me sick
Steve says
Profound ignorance pretty much sums it up. On TV the anti Maskers say If I die I die.And there you have it. No ones more tired of having their lifestyle changed than me but it beats fighting for my life or worse. Have been under Social distancing and masks etc since March and will stay vigilant. Left exposure to this type of behavior in the rearview mirror. Good luck
Don Appignani says
Steve, it’s like a death cult.
Greg says
Wow, glad we are no longer members there. We dropped out due to very poor meals. We are very sad for the sick and wish them a speedy recovery.
Stay Away says
This is why i’m anti-social !!!!
Mythoughts says
More people are going to die, we have a Donald Trump spreading germs at his ego rallies and his Governor DeSantis that is following in his foot steps ignoring all the scientists that are saying large crowds spread this virus.
People feel it is their right not to wear masks to protect themselves and others, well this is what happens because of that.
Probably by November more will have died and that means Flagler County and sooner or later all businesses will have no choice but to shut down again.
So, everyone just continue to ignore the scientists that are only trying to save lives.
steve says
IMO A second lock down will happen. Its sooner than later not if but when. It will be due to terrible lack of Leadership too little too late and this selfish, self centered, ill informed, lack of self reliance attitude that permeates what is the daily Drama of FPC
Beachlivesmatter says
I agree. It is way safer to do karaoke at a “peaceful protest”
The Truth says
The Social Club did not take this pandemic seriously from the beginning. They were angered that the state was shut down early on, sent several emails about how “the state” shut them down. In the few events we attended, the leaders of the club never pushed for masks to be worn at all times. They were very lax. Many members also walked around with no masks and laughed at the “hoax” that was the coronavirus. Of course, when this message is sent from up top from our fearless leader in the oval office are we really surprised?
It’s a never ending cycle. You have those who think this is just some sort of conspiracy for the government to control our lives, refuse to wear masks, infections rise and this pandemic drags on. Until everyone takes this seriously we will continue on with the next few months getting much worse.
This social club is poorly run and has been doomed for a while. This will likely shut them down as they just simply don’t take these things seriously enough.
Greg says
Agreed, the club is very poorly run. I’m sure they were just trying to survive. When things get bad, bad decisions are made. Glad I’m no longer a member. Very sad
Reinhold Schlieper says
Hey, People! Trump demonstrated it; the Trumpublicans follow orders. Who would be there to forbid anything otherwise? Those folks weren’t stupid; they were misled by the guy in the White House. Let’s be sure to vote him out; it’ll fix most of the problems we’ve got right now. There’s no need to get even with the club.
Stephen Playe, M.D. says
This tragedy can teach us a valuable lesson. We have heard conflicting information from many sources over the past 7 months as we have learned about this new disease. But here is what we now know:
Masks protect us. Even if you are indoors with someone who has the disease (whether they have symptoms or not) you will not catch COVID if you are both wearing masks. Period.
If masks are not being worn indoors no amount of “deep cleaning”, 6 foot distancing, temperature checks at the door, or hand washing will assure your safety.
Oh my. Masks were not worn at a social event and a person literally killed at least one friend.
What will it take for us to learn?
P says
What a bunch of losers, and greedy people running this club…. Liars?
Trailer Bob says
It is not Trumps fault if people are stupid. I voted republican, that is simply one of several political parties. If one thinks that they don’t have to wear a mask, it is their decision, not Trumps. That rant is getting tired, old.
It is the PEOPLE that don’t believe in protection from the Virus who correspondingly choose to elect Trump. They would act irresponsibly, regardless of whether or not Trump even existed. I personally know many who vote Democratically, that do not wear masks while out in public, I see them everyday in bars, dollar general, etc.
So the media can push their agenda before the election, but give people more credit…they have free will and a mind of their own. If they don’t, it is on them.
jim dana says
Pathetic – to say the least. At least NOW we finally know why our cases and deaths surged recently – way to go “trumpers.”
CB from PC says
No excuse for this.
Bob Snyder and the City of Palm Coast need to shut it down and revoke food and alcohol dispensing licenses.
How many of us not associated with the Social Club are being exposed by going grocery shopping, etc?
But this being Palm Coast, no one is held accountable,
Bob can continue to “implore” all he wants.
As Director of the Health Department, he needs to step up to the plate and push back on this with more than a “cut It out”.
Where is the Mayor weighing in on this Public Health hazard?
She had no problem shutting down activities when nothing like this had occurred in March and April.
Apparently, cleaning the place is good enough to resume BAU.
Vulnerable elderly age group with no masks and packed into a small area.
What could go wrong?
The organizers need to be called on the carpet for not shutting it down when people refused to comply with the mask mandate, and also for failing to limit the crowd to maintain social distancing.
And knock off the Trump rally BS.
Could just as easily been another group of “protesters”,
Gloria April says
This was not a Kaeroke night but a show night from Mike Kohn. There was no kaeoke this night so it was not a kaeroke super spreader. People need to get their facts straight. There were not 200 people at the Fishing Club there were less than 110 which is less than the capafcity of the big hall. Temperatures were taken and masks were worn to enter the building. Masks were supposed to be worn at all times and people were advised to put masks back on. People like to spread misinformation and scare people. We are taking this seriously. The people who are calling the club asking for a super spreader kaeroke night need to know that they are also irresponsible adults who evidently don’t wear their masks or perform the practice of covid-19 social distancing since they are so disrespectful of the people who did contract the covid. For that person I do have his phone number and will be reporting him to the police. The other problem is that the Social Club is not the only club that has had Covid cases and those clubs are not being singled out because they have higher ups that can stop them from being singled out. But be aware there are cases of covid at the other social clubs not just ours. So be diligent and wear your mask your club could be the next super spreader.
Pat says
Wait!
There were only 110 persons attending?
And 50 cases of Covid happened as a result?
Egads! That’s horrible!
deb says
You know these people that don’t want to follow the guidelines or appear to give a crap about anyone but themselves will continue to do what they do and infect others. What needs to happen and business in this town or any others I’ve been to, need to enforce the wear a mask sign on their own door., I’ve seen people just walk into restaurant with NO mask on and there is a wear mask sign right there and the business doesn’t stop them. No wonder we have these spikes in infections in this country. A lot of people don’t give a crap and business appear to not care as well.
Ramone says
There’s karaoke going on at numerous establishments throughout Volusia and Flagler County. I’m guessing some places, and karaoke hosts, do a lot better keeping things safe. It also may be worth considering the mean age of those attending the social club versus other restaurant/bars. I think their demographic is older and thus are more susceptible to the worst part of this terrible virus.
palmcoaster says
Report is that some antimaskser’and keep safe distance s pay the ultimate price…and now the cold weather will arrive soon, that is said to be increasing cases. Hope not. Is very frustrating not being able to normally socialize but comes to a life and death matter. Is up to us all to mask up and keep distance as we should do it also for others safety…
ASF says
There’s community spirit for you–infect everybody you know and even those you don’t!
Linda says
All individual are their own keepers! No one forced anyone to attend the Social Club. People could get COVID anywhere, the grocery, the drug store, and especially at protests! Tell the democratic governors and mayors to shut down the protests, I meant “riots”. If Trump had not shut out China when he did and then Europe there would probably be far more disease. Look at the numbers . . . Florida has done twice the testing as New York, and has less than 1/3 of the deaths than New York or New Jersey, take a good look at their governors. Trump sent Como everything and more for which he asked, set up 2 hospitals and staffed them though they were hardly used, instead Como sent COVID positive patients back to senior facilities . . .talk about blame, he should be help responsible. So take the politics out it, except for China which allowed their infected citizens to go anywhere in he world, except the rest of China. Perhaps some of the huge amounts of money that Hunter Bidden got from China could go back the USA victims to help fight the Chinese virus.
Tiki Bar says
Agree that it is sad that SOME POEPLE view this as political. IT IS NOT. From the beginning, Our President and most of the leaders have listened to the “TOP SCIENTISTS” and followed that advice. Thing is, the “TOP SCIENTISTS” don’t all have the same perception and have been working with limited data which, in fact, has and is changing over time. The “TOP SCIENTISTS” are the “TOP SCIENTISTS” regardless of who is in charge. NO one can PUSH science nor biological research. Think about this people. While the virus is real, it is also real that the deaths (although a large number) are actually less than one percent of the US population which by the way is 327,000. So, when you hear that the death rate is less than one percent THAT IS ACCURATE. Do the math. Those concerned should be the COMORBID people and THEY should isolate themselves…first don’t go out …anywhere… have everything delivered to your house…even food. Stay isolated, wear masks, and take every precaution.
Jo says
Can i offer you a plate of Qanon?
Jeff Sica says
With a side of FauxNews, please!
Gerry says
Why do some of us have to look at events as a political situation? Disgusting…..are we heading toward a civil war?
Tiki Bar says
From someone who has gone to the Social Club regularly and recently… Although they may have a “wear mask” sign, the Social Club has NOT tried to actively enforce the wearing of masks. Next, the tables in the bar area have NEVER been spaced for social distancing and this IS THE RESPONSIBILTY of the venue NOT the patrons. Second, the Social Club DID NOT ask the patrons to move to the larger space. Also, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY of the venue to designate WHERE an entertainer sets up. Except for very large events, IT IS THE SOCIAL CLUB that wants the entertainment in the bar area; the entertainer will set up where ever they are told. There HAS NOT BEEN A SINGLE TIME that we have been at the club that ANY …NONE AT ALL… precautions, suggestions, enforcement, or otherwise to ADHERE to ANY Social Distancing Guidelines., PERIOD. Let me be perfectly clear, The Social Club of Palm Coast has NOT EVEN TRIED to suggest or adhere to ANY protection or social distancing regarding the Coronavirus pandemic.
Furthermore, the 200 person event that the Social Club of Palm Coast hosted {referenced in this article} inside the club on the 21 could NOT have had social distancing as there simply is not enough space in the building to house 200 people, limit to 50 percent capacity, or adhere to social distancing guidelines. If you don’t believe it, go have a look at the space. If anyone at that gathering had the Coronavirus they would have transmitted it to at least a few people, maybe more.
To summarize, this entire fiasco rests solely on the SOCIAL CLUB OF PALM COAST for failing to space tables, enforce mask wearing, setting up entertainment in a confined space, adherence to 50 percent capacity, or adhere to any measure of social distance.
If you doubt anything in my response, perhaps you should start interviewing the members who attend all the time rather than a spokesperson who is trying to deny the club’s part in this.
L says
I went to the Social club on a Friday in August to ask about Bingo. There were signs on the door requiring people to wear masks. I had one on. I was stopped and they took my temperature. The staff had on masks I just stood at the doorway to the large room. The tables were separated- only 2 per table – hand sanitizer on each table. I was told everyone had to wear masks. They could take them off when they were at their table but they had to put them on when they left their table. This was during bingo. They were telling me about cleaning each table in the area before bingo and after bingo.
I did observe many guidelines being followed.
Tom Seidel says
I said “Mask Up or Shut Down” in March, and I still believe it is the way to go at a minimum. Masks are not perfect. They might allow passage of molecular, aerosol sized particles. But face masks plus use of plastic face shields like our medical workers use can stop most of those as well. Passage of outside air through a facility will trump (pun intended) recirculating air. Once the virus is in the air and if it recirculates, look out. Do not sit in the line of recirculating air.
Robjr says
It is a hoax.
Fake news by a biased media.
We are rounding the corner.
Get your free clorox, ultraviolet light and hydroxychloroquine at the next ku klux trump rally.
Bless those who have become infected.
Lynn S. says
My husband and I have not eaten in dine-in restaurant since the beginning of this pandemic. There is major concern with the HVAC actually spreading the virus. Since of course HVAC circulates the indoor air; there is the possibility that the HVAC could be spreading the virus. A study is being done now about this very issue. We won’t know for sometime the results from that study. We err on the side of caution since we both have risk factors that put us at a higher risk; such as age and an autoimmune disease. We only do take out; we wear a mask when we pickup and we ask when we order if the people preparing the food are wearing masks and whether the person serving and taking our payment will be wearing mask. We will not do dine-in until this deadly virus is under control with a vaccine. We have done outdoor dining one time; but, that was at a restaurant that only did outdoor and takeout dining. They also had the 6 ft. spacing on the outdoor tables and the server wore a mask.
I blown away by what the ignorant management of this Club allowed to go on at their facility. Their ignorance cost lives and caused great illness in the community.
Sick and tired says
So how about the sick people from the Italian American Club? Why aren’t they contacting their members? Yes, they have cases too.
They hosted a roomful of Republicans without maks on Election Day and then they had a full house dinner dance.
Dawna ♡ says
So nice to see a consensus here in the comment section denouncing the actions of these party goers. I will refrain from writing how I feel about those who partake of such get togethers…. because it is not nice. ♡
hawkeye says
Contrary to what some of these posts are saying, I went to a gun show at this place run by an outfit called cliffhangars, to enter you had to be wearing a mask and have your temperature taken .No mask , no temperature, not allowed in.Most important no alcohol. When people start drinking , many think that they are invincible, then add in horrible singing ,spraying germs all over and you get the results of kaoreoke night. If people are smart and want to have an event ,it should be run the way the gun show people operated.
Frodo says
How does one become a member of this club? I would like to purchase Joe Mullins a membership here.
jean says
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He and Desantis may as well be Trump.
Jean says
And these people shop where I USED to feel safe, Publix, but I see more and more people there–who think nothing of walking right by me, with NO MASK. Shame on Publix for not designating employees on rotating shift to stand at the door and only allow those with masks to enter like Trader Joes does. I don’t know where I will shop now. It is FloriDUH where so many do not take the virus seriously and refuse to wear a mask.