Australian socialite spreads coronavirus to dozens after full vaccination

An Australian socialite has admitted to being a superspreader after throwing a party without realising he was infected with coronavirus.

An Australian man living it up in the United States has become an accidental superspreader after throwing a party while infected with the Delta strain of coronavirus.

Socialite Anthony Hess says he spread the virus to at least 60 people after a big weekend in Los Angeles over July 9-11.

Of those 60, at least 20 confirmed cases were directly infected by attending the parties and 40 others had symptoms.

He says there could be more.

“Honestly, I have no idea how many people I infected, I came into contact with so many it could be hundreds,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“I feel so guilty, I’ve had dozens of friends message me saying they have symptoms, but I’m vaccinated and had no idea I had Covid.”

Hess told the publication he had received two shots of the Moderna vaccine and was not displaying symptoms over the weekend when he infected partygoers.

RELATED: Scott Morrison under pressure to say sorry for vaccine rollout

Anthony Hess infected dozens of people despite being fully vaccinated. Picture: Instagram

But the virus hit him hard and forced him to spend four days in bed “without eating … sweating so bad” and feeling “like I was dying”.

Hess, you might recall, had a public run-in with Sydney PR executive Roxy Jacenko earlier this year after being convicted of a foul-mouthed graffiti attack on her office.

Over 12 months after a magistrate refused to grant Ms Jacenko an apprehended violence order against Mr Hess, but he was eventually found guilty of scrawling “Roxy is a c**t” on her wall. He was fined $2400.

Ms Jacenko took to social media to celebrate.

“We have set the record straight about this incident, proving beyond reasonable doubt that Anthony Hess was responsible for the graffiti on that night, alongside one other, despite his deniability (sic) of it,” Ms Jacenko said.

Mr Hess was found guilty of scrawling the message on Roxy Jacenko’s business wall and fined.

Hess, who has since moved to Los Angeles, said he played no part in the graffiti attack.

He told Daily Mail Australia that Australians think the virus is “a joke” but they should be taking it seriously.

“It just goes to show how easily people can spread the Delta strain without knowing,” he said.

“Everyone in Australia thinks it’s a joke, it’s not. LA is putting restrictions back on. The virus is spreading so fast, people are dying.

“I didn’t take it seriously either, until it happened to me. In Australia no-one knows anyone who’s had it.”

Superspreader events have become increasingly common. Some have significantly worse outcomes than others.

Texas man Tony Green, who was a self-described Covid-19 denier, ended up killing two members of his own family when he accidentally infected them.

Mr Green wrote about “family tragedy” in an open and honest blog after his father-in-law and his father-in-law’s mother fell victim to the coronavirus – and he himself barely survived.

He says he was a “hard ass that stood up for” his “God-given rights” when he threw a party that sparked a massive cluster event and killed his loved ones.

Anthony Hess leaving a Sydney court. Picture: John Grainger

Mr Green threw a party on June 13 last year. The next day, he woke up sick. Two days later, his partner was sick and his parents were sick. Then the in-laws came to town and the spread got worse.

“They brought (my partner’s) mother and one of my partner’s sisters,” he said. “That night my father-in-law became ill. Then my mother-in-law and their daughter began feeling sick. They cut their trip short.

“Two days later, my father-in-law’s mother got sick. The new mommy and daddy got sick too. We all tested positive for COVID-19. Only the newborn was spared.”