SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WJW) — A 30-year-old man died after attending a “COVID Party” in the San Antonio, Texas area.

A “COVID Party” is a party held by someone diagnosed with the coronavirus. People attend the gathering to see if anyone gets infected and essentially determine if the virus is real, Methodist Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Appleby told KSAT.

Before he passed, the patient reportedly told his nurse “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”

“He didn’t really believe. He thought he was young and he was invincible and wouldn’t get affected by the disease,” Dr. Appleby said.

Appleby says she has heard of quite a few young people holding COVID parties. She notes that many young people don’t realize how sick they are.

“People will come in initially and they don’t look so bad. They don’t look really sick, but when you check their oxygen levels and you check their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear on the surface,” she explained.

According to KENS5, Methodist Hospital has several critically ill coronavirus patients that are in their twenties and thirties. This is a growing trend in the San Antonio community and across the country.

Appleby hopes that what happened to this 30-year-old helps other young people understand the severity of the virus.

“This is just one example of a potentially avoidable death in a young member of our community and I can’t imagine the loss of the family,” Appleby told the news outlet. “We’re here to help you, at the same time, we hope that you don’t need our help. Please wear a mask, stay at home when you can, avoid groups of people and sanitize your hands.”

Texas health officials also note that 25% of positive coronavirus cases in Bexar County, which houses San Antonio, are made up of young adults.

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