Hundreds gather maskless to watch North Carolina town's Christmas parade despite COVID-19 concerns - and the mayor even rode a float
A Christmas parade was held in Youngsville, North Carolina on Saturday in defiance of the Governor Roy Cooper.
The parade was a short one on Saturday morning, lasting approximately 22 minutes in total.
The risks were high, though, as around 500 people either attended or participated and only an estimated half of them chose to wear masks or take other safety measures.
'It's tradition,' teacher Lindsey Newton said to The News & Observer about why she attended. 'If I could go to every person and say 'Put your mask on,' I'd probably get hit in the face. All I can say is the Good Lord's in control.'
A parade for Christmas was held in Youngsville, North Carolina on Saturday morning
The parade was held in defiance of outdoor gathering restrictions imposed by the state
It was also held despite the warnings of the Franklin County Health Department
The Franklin County Health Department reportedly implored the town to cancel the parade as the coronavirus continues to surge this fall.
That didn't happen, though, with Mayor Fonzie Flowers putting his stamp of approval on the event by riding on one of the floats.
'I was elected for a reason – to represent my citizens – and that’s what we are trying to do,' Mayor Flowers told WRAL prior to the parade. 'We’re going to do it. We’re going to keep them safe.'
'We are already in a surge,' Franklin County Health Department Director Scott LaVigne told CBS 17. 'We’re already experiencing a surge post-Thanksgiving that we have just started to see, and that’s on top of it.'
Last month, Gov. Cooper began enforcing an outdoor gathering limit of 50 people, which the parade clearly violated.
It's estimated that around 500 people either attended or participated in the parade
Of those 500 people, it's estimated that only around half were wearing masks for protection
Toys and candy were thrown by floats and cars in the parade, creating more close contact
Officials in Youngsville declared it was okay due to an exemption for religious events.
The town also reportedly held a tree-lighting ceremony on Friday night, which around 100 people attended.
State Representative Lisa Stone Barnes also took part in the parade and did so without a mask.
'There’s numerous things that are allowed and they can go out and protest and they don’t wear masks, and why can’t a parade go on?' attendee Beverly Baker told CBS 17.
'I don’t think I’ve smiled that big in a really long time,' Ashlyn Hills told the news station. 'It really made you feel the Christmas spirit and what it’s all about.'
Candy and toys were thrown from some of the floats and people gathered close together along the route to catch the trinkets, ignoring signs encouraging social distancing.
The town also reportedly held a Christmas tree lighting on Friday evening. Pictured: Candy and toys being thrown from a truck participating in the Youngsville parade
The crowd size is sparking fears the current wave of coronavirus cases will surge again
WRAL reports Franklin County - where Youngsville is located - has had a 9 percent positivity rate in coronavirus tests over the past two weeks prior to the parade.
North Carolina recorded 6,260 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the second-highest daily total in the state's history, which has now experienced over 395,000 cases in total.
Thirty-one more people lost their life to COVID-19 in North Carolina on Sunday, bringing the state's death total up to 5,578.
There have been over 14.7 million coronavirus cases and 282,000 deaths in the United States since the pandemic began.
There have been over 14.7 million cases and 282,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States