Walla Walla County Commissioner office

Walla Walla County commissioners said they are reviewing the facts around a gathering of people initially reported as a “coronavirus party.”

The statement from the three commissioners was the first public response from a media whirlwind Wednesday that put Walla Walla in the national spotlight as a spot for COVID-19 parties.

After the statement was released from commissioners Thursday afternoon, staff at the county’s Department of Community Health declined further comment.

On Monday, Community Health Director Meghan DeBolt said her staff had heard of people coming together for the express purpose of exposing themselves to COVID-19, thus building antibodies and herd immunity to the virus.

DeBolt said the same to other news outlets, further detailing there was at least one confirmed COVID-19 party. On Wednesday night she abruptly walked back her statements to media that had interviewed her outside of the Walla Walla area.

In a statement just before 2 p.m. Thursday, commissioners Greg Tompkins, Jim Johnson and Todd Kimball said they have learned social gatherings — prohibited through Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” initiative — are “beginning to occur.

“One of these gatherings had been reported initially as a ‘coronavirus party’ then later identified as a social gathering, such as a birthday party or Easter service,” the announcement said. “We are reviewing the facts around this incident.”

The statement came after press deadline, and ended with advice to people who are sick and needing care to call before going in for care so arrangements can be made to prevent exposing others.