Two Massachusetts parents and their teenage child have been charged for hosting a large party that forced their local high school to postpone in-person learning for two weeks. When police broke up the party in the town of Sudbury, they estimated there were between 50 and 60 high school students at the home. There was alcohol on the premises, and most of the guests were not social distancing or wearing masks. Officials said about a dozen students ran into the woods when the police arrived, while others provided false information to the responding officers.
That made it nearly impossible for the Health Department to conduct contact tracing to determine if anybody at the party had been exposed to COVID-19. While there were no known cases of COVID-19 linked to the large party, officials at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School said, "the risk to the school community cannot be adequately assessed," and decided to switch to remote learning for two weeks.
"After the intensity of hard work and planning that has been done to be able to start school with students in-person, we are profoundly disappointed at this sudden change of plans," the school's principal Bella Wong, said in a letter to parents.
Authorities decided to charge the parents and their teenage child under the state's social host law for providing alcohol to minors. They are facing misdemeanor charges, which can result in a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
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