Man who attended Queens GOP holiday party gets COVID, is hospitalized
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A man ended up in the hospital with COVID after attending a mostly maskless, indoor Christmas party held by a Republican club in Queens earlier this month.
James Trent was in stable condition and recovering from the virus at North Shore University Hospital on Wednesday, he told the Queens Daily Eagle.
Trent, the chair of the Queens Village Republican Club, attended the Dec. 9 dance party hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club at the Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck.
City Council candidate Vickie Paladino and former State Assembly candidate James Martinosky were among those in attendance at the party, which featured a conga line.
Video from the event reportedly shows dozens of attendees, most without masks, in the catering room of the restaurant.
the Whitestone Republican Club in NYC apparently held a Christmas party this year without a care in the world about COVID pic.twitter.com/mHzW86d9M7
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) December 21, 2020
Trent told the Eagle he "wasn't doing anything risky" and was surprised he caught COVID.
"I wasn't on the conga line. I ate by myself," he told the outlet. "I don't know how I got this."
Sources told the Eagle that another attendee and his wife also tested positive for the virus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the party earlier this month, according to the Eagle, which reported that indoor dining was still permitted at 25% capacity at the time of the event but that attendees were required to wear masks except when at a table.
