A New York council is set to hold a press conference to address a secretly recorded confession by the city’s former COVID czar.
The New York City Council Common-Sense Caucus will address the actions of Dr Jay Varma—the city’s senior health adviser during the COVID-19 pandemic under then-mayor Bill de Blasio—who was allegedly caught on a hidden camera confessing to violations of his own COVID protocols.
Dr Varma was filmed several times by the MugClub, a show hosted by Steven Crowder, a conservative talk show host who also is the face of Louder With Crowder. In the video posted by Crowder, which is a compilation of many clips of Varma, the doctor tells a woman – who is off camera – that he broke his own COVID rules in a number of ways including hosting and attending secret sex parties during the pandemic.
Dr Varma has been contacted for comment via SIGA Technologies, where he is executive vice president and chief medical officer.
Dr. Jay Varma speaking at a press conference while deputy commissioner of the New York City Health Department on October 25, 2014. He was allegedly caught on a hidden camera confessing to violations of his own COVID protocols.
Bryan Thomas/Getty images
In one clip, the MugClub journalist asks: “If New York City found out you were having sex parties during COVID?”
To which Dr Varma responds: “Yeah it would have been a real embarrassment.”
He adds in the video that he went to an underground party in Wall Street where he was “rolling” on MDMA and was looking around to make sure that nobody recognized him, because he said if anyone saw him they would be “so pissed.”
He also says that the only way for him to keep doing his job was to blow off steam every now and then, but he recognized that was not COVID safe.
In the video it’s unclear when this party took place. Dr Varma said he had not been to a party like that one in “a year and half,” meaning he could have attended the event after vaccines were rolled out in New York City, and after the crowd mandates had ended.
He also admitted that in the first August of the pandemic, he and his wife rented a hotel room for eight to 10 of their friends to party in. They also did MDMA at that event, and engaged in “deviant sexual stuff,” according to Dr Varma.
He added that at the time there were no restrictions on gatherings. He said that hotels did not want any indoor parties, but they didn’t enforce those rules.
According to the law form Husch Blackwell’s timeline of New York City’s COVID phases, in August 2020, NYC was in “Phase IV” of the pandemic protocols, which was the final reopening phase in New York State.
Bill de Blasio opening a vaccination center for Broadway workers in New York on April 12, 2021.
Noam Galai
Phase IV still included the closure of large indoor spaces such as movie theaters and concert venues. It also included a mask mandate for gyms. If masks were required for places that hosted strenuous physical activity, it is likely they would have been required per Phase IV at Dr Varma’s hotel party as well.
In a statement included in a report by CBS News, Dr Varma said: “In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago.”
Varma added: “I served in City Hall between April 2020 – May 2021. During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time.”
The New York City Council Common-Sense Caucus is set to host a press conference on the matter at 12 p.m. ET on September 23.
A statement from Council Member Robert F. Holden’s office informed the public that the press conference will “address recent reports of Dr. Jay Varma’s comments about his time as COVID-19 Czar under Mayor Bill de Blasio and the impact of his policies on city workers, local businesses and families.”
