Owners Of NYC Party Boat ‘Liberty Belle’ Arrested For Violating Social Distancing Rules

The owners and captain of a New York City riverboat were arrested Saturday night for ignoring social distancing rules after throwing a party with more than 170 attendees, according to the sheriff’s department.

Authorities were alerted of a party boat leaving Pier 36 on the Lower East Side around 8:30 p.m. Saturday night, and broke up the party around three hours later when the Liberty Belle returned to the dock. The four-story boat, which has a capacity of 600 people, is owned by Ronny Vargas and Alex Sauzo, who were arrested and given desk appearance dates for violating social distancing rules and operating a bar without a liquor license. The captain of the ship Joseph Spadaro was also arrested and given a summons for not displaying the boat’s ID number correctly.

The sheriff’s department said they were tipped off by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who received word on the ship’s departure from the resident association at the Two Bridges Waterfront Tower.

The resident association’s Twitter account posted a picture of the boat from the apartment building soon after it departed the docks at 8:20 p.m.

Later in the evening, the sheriff’s department tweeted that they had arrested the owners and captain of the boat.

“Deputy Sheriffs intercept the Liberty Belle at Pier 36 & arrest owners and captain for illegal party: violation of social distancing provisions of the Mayor’s and Governor’s Emergency Orders, Alcohol Beverage Control Law: unlicensed bar & bottle club & Navigation Law,” the tweet said.

FDA approves key coronavirus test that could significantly speed up results

A few weeks ago, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci explained that testing for the novel coronavirus needs a key upgrade that will make it easier to detect the most dangerous COVID-19 spreader: Asymptomatic carriers.

Fauci’s comments came in late June, doubling down on the need for increased testing in the US. America was already registering a surge in cases at the time, with several states reporting more cases than during lockdowns.

The same week, Fauci said before Congress that nobody had asked him and his colleagues to reduce testing, and that testing would increase.

The statement came in response to questions about President Trump’s criticism of testing. More testing will lead to more cases, Trump has said, a conclusion that has no scientific merit.

If COVID-19 is spreading inside a community, it will continue to infect people no matter how many tests are processed.

Three weeks later, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the crucial coronavirus test that Fauci detailed.

Pool testing can save tests and reduce wait times for results.

As of Monday morning, nearly 14.7 million COVID-19 patients have been diagnosed worldwide, and more than 611,000 people have died.

The virus now takes less than five days to infect a million more people. America is leading the surge, with nearly 3.9 million cases and over 143,000 fatalities.