Throngs of people packed an area known as "The Knolls" in Utah to attend a rave-like Halloween event that was promoted as a "protest" against coronavirus rules, NBC News reports.
Utah County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Spencer Cannon told NBC affiliate KSL, the number of partygoers who attended the Saturday night gathering ranged "anywhere from three to 10 thousand people."
Cannon told NBC News the event was discovered when medical assistance was requested after a woman was knocked unconscious while crowd surfing. Cannon added there were also two car accidents as attendees drove away from the event. Police shut the party down at around 10 p.m. local time Halloween night.
Cellphone videos of the event posted on social media show people packed together with little social distancing and mask wearing.
The outlet reports party planners Utah Tonight and the Tribe Utah had advertised a Halloween "protest" party at an undisclosed location to be announced on Halloween for weeks.
Both groups have posted anti-coronavirus restriction comments on social media in the weeks leading up to the event. Tribe Utah posted "gatherings are essential for public health." Utah Tonight has claimed public health rules are "subjectively applied."
Utah GOP Gov. Gary Herbert issued a statement via a spokesperson that stated COVID-19 is spread through social events and the virus "is all too real and terrifying for the medical professionals working overtime in our packed ICUs."
"We must decide, and show by our actions, that the lives of everyone around us matter more to us than parties. If we do not, we will have a difficult time beating COVID-19 as a society," the statement said.
According to Utah's health department, the state is experiencing a large outbreak of cases.
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