Former President Barack Obama plans to host a 60th birthday party for himself and hundreds of guests this weekend amid heightened public health concerns about the COVID-19 Delta variant, Axios reports.
A person with knowledge of the party’s protocols told Axios all guests will be COVID-tested. However, it was not known when, where or what proof invitees would have to offer.
Axios said there were 475 confirmed guests — including friends, family and former aides — and 200-plus staff planning to work the party, where the band Pearl Jam would perform.
The Obama birthday bash — the former president was born on Aug. 4, 1961 — will be held on Martha’s Vineyard, not far from Provincetown, Mass., where breakthrough cases following the Fourth of July holiday weekend showed the continued risk of spread even between vaccinated people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated masking guidelines last week, when it advised people to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
"If you're talking about a small party like I might have at my house for six or eight people who are all fully vaccinated, I do not believe, at this point, we need to put masks on to be next to each other," Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday on CNN.
"But if there were 100 people, and, of course, how are you really going to be sure about people's vaccination status?"
The Obama party is scheduled to be held outdoors at the former first family's $12-million home, which sits on 30 oceanfront acres. Invitees have been told there will be a person to ensure all proper protocols are followed.
The former president’s team did not say whether guests will be required to wear masks, said Axios, which added that Martha's Vineyard does not qualify as an area of "substantially-high" risk.
The White House said President Joe Biden would not be attending the party.
"While President Biden is unable to attend this weekend, he looks forward to catching up with former President Obama soon and properly welcoming him into the over-60 club," a spokesperson said.
Hollywood director Steven Spielberg is expected to be in attendance.
“[In lieu of gifts,] guests are being asked to consider giving to programs that work to support boys and young men of color and their families here at home in the United States, empower adolescent girls around the world, and equip the next generation of emerging community leaders," Axios reported.
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