Trump is reportedly planning to host hundreds of guests at his lavish New Year's Eve bash in Mar-A-Lago as COVID-19 cases continue to soar
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- President Trump is still hosting his annual New Year's Eve party at the Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- A longtime member of Mar-A-Lago told CNN this week that at least 500 reservations have been confirmed so far.
- The lavish end-of-year party is a Trump family tradition for which high-profile guests have previously paid thousands to attend.
- It is unclear whether any coronavirus guidelines will be in place.
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President Trump plans to end the year in style as preparations for his annual New Year's Eve gala at the Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida are well underway.
The lavish black-tie event, where attendees reportedly paid $1,000-a-ticket in 2019, is a Trump family tradition that dates back to 2000.
While there is no confirmed number of guests attending this year's end-of-year bash, a longtime member of Mar-A-Lago told CNN on Tuesday that at least 500 reservations have been made so far.
It is unclear whether any coronavirus guidelines will be in place or whether guests will adhere to them.
The New Year's Party has previously been attended by the president's family, celebrities, and Republican big-wigs, including Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
In 2018, the president was not able to attend due to the government shutdown, however, First Lady Melania Trump kept the show going without her husband.
The president has spent the 2020 holiday shuttling between the White House and his newly-renovated Palm Beach luxury residence, mostly playing golf and tweeting about stimulus checks.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, activities at the Mar-a-Lago resort seem to be in full swing, with one member telling CNN that the beach club area by the pool is so crowded that guests are arguing over available chairs.
"People are going for dinner as usual," said the source, who added there seems to be "little regard for the pandemic," according to CNN.
The New Year's Eve bash will come as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to soar across the country.
More than 19.5 million people have contracted the coronavirus in the United States at the time of writing. Almost 340,000 have died from it, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.
On Tuesday, Florida reported more than 12,000 coronavirus cases and 105 virus-related deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned this week that the country is currently at a critical place and that the worst is yet to come.
"We very well might see a post-seasonal - in the sense of Christmas, New Year's - surge, and as I've described it, as a surge upon a surge," Fauci told CNN.
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