Lockdown critic Hannity says the Ozarks pool party ‘could be a disaster’ for vulnerable Americans

‘If they get the virus and then are in contact with older and more vulnerable Americans, that could be a disaster for others’

Fox News host and lockdown critic Sean Hannity has criticised people who attended a pool party in the Ozarks over the Memorial Day weekend.

Video was released over the weekend that showed people at a pool party at popular tourist destination, The Lake of the Ozarks, in central Missouri.

The party goers clearly were not following social distancing measures, and a majority were pictured not wearing masks.

Missouri was one of the first states in the US to begin reopening the economy and easing its social distancing measures, earlier this month.

The party did not break any state laws, but on Tuesday Mr Hannity criticised those who attended it over the weekend.

“Look, I understand these are young people,” he said during Hannity. “Experts keep saying over and over they are at a much lower risk, but if they do get this and again there is no mask wearing here that I see. Not much at all.”

The Lake of the Ozarks is a popular destination for people in Missouri and neighbouring states, according to The Hill, and Mr Hannity added that the parties could be harmful to vulnerable people.

“I see no social distancing,” he said. “But if they get the virus and then are in contact with older and more vulnerable Americans, that could be a disaster for others.

“That’s why in the short period of time, it’s only temporary, if you can’t social distance, please wear the mask,” Mr Hannity said. “Do it for your mom, your dad, your grandma, your grandpa.”

The host added that Americans need to use their common sense: “You need to be cautious, take precautions because we don’t want it to spread to vulnerable people. We’ve seen what happens when we do.”

Mr Hannity, alongside other Fox News hosts, Laura Ingraham and Jeanine Pirro, has previously criticised lockdown measures, across the US.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fox News host claimed the virus was a hoax from the Democrats to bludgeon Donald Trump, and last month supported reopening states.

Until March, Mr Hannity appeared sceptical of the seriousness of the virus, and in April said that “Americans are dying to get back to work,” and suggested some states did not have to wait until May to reopen.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.6 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 98,929.