Obama Scales Back His 60th Birthday Party over COVID-19 Fears

Former U.S. President scaled back his 60th birthday party after backlash and concerns about the spread of COVID-19, reports indicated on Wednesday.

Obama and his wife Michelle were supposed to host around 700 people, including Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney, at the former president’s mansion on Martha’s Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts.

Hannah Hankins, a spokesperson for Obama, confirmed the event changed to a smaller one, according to the Insider.

“Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the president and Mrs Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends,” Hankins said in a statement.

“He’s appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon,” the spokesperson added.

A source said guests were required to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public health safety measures, including a testing regiment managed by a COVID-19 coordinator, USA TODAY reported.

Moreover, Axios revealed that all guests were asked to be vaccinated, and were also required to submit negative test results to the COVID-19 coordinator within a certain time window before the event.

Some guests, like President Joe Biden, were already reported as not attending before the gathering was scaled back.

In a statement to Axios, a White House spokesperson stated: “While President Biden is unable to attend this weekend, he looks forward to catching up with former President Obama soon and properly welcoming him into the over-sixty club.”

Nevertheless, Biden did not miss to wish the former president on Twitter with sweet words. "I’m proud to call you a brother and a friend."

[embed]https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1422949440701308928?s=08[/embed]

In the same vein, White House Press Sec. Jen Psaki also wished her 'former boss' a happy birthday. "Thanks for everything you have done to make this country better," Psaki wrote

[embed]https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1422900064696086534?s=08[/embed]