Health officials in Missouri have called on partiers who descended on Lake of the Ozarks’ crowded Memorial Day weekend celebrations to self-quarantine out of concern they may bring the virus back with them.

The St. Louis County Public Health Department slammed the packed poolside bars in videos that emerged from the lake spot as “reckless.”

“This reckless behavior endangers countless people and risks setting us back substantially from the progress we have made in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” county executive Dr. Sam Page said Monday in a statement.

The health department expressed concern that revelers, some of whom are from the St. Louis area, may be putting others at risk.

“Any person who has traveled and engaged in this behavior should self-quarantine for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result for COVID-19,” the department said in a travel advisory.

Employers are already encouraged to screen workers for health risks and should ask them about their recent travel and social distancing practices, health officials said.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said it was “irresponsible and dangerous” for people to engage in the high-risk behavior on display at Lake of the Ozarks, which is about 180 miles west of St. Louis and a popular vacation destination.

“Now, these folks will be coming home to St. Louis and counties all over Missouri and the Midwest, raising concerns about the potential of more positive cases, hospitalizations, and tragically, deaths,” Krewson said in a statement. “It’s just deeply disturbing.”

With Post wires

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