Obama defies CDC guidance by inviting 500 people to his celebrity-studded 60th birthday party at his $12m mansion on Martha's Vineyard: Pearl Jam will perform and guests including Steven Spielberg will be served by 200 staff

• Former President Barack Obama is planning to celebrate his 60th birthday with nearly 500 guests and 200 staff members on Martha's Vineyard
• It would be held next weekend outside of his 7,000-square-foot mansion in Edgarton he and Michelle bought for nearly $12 million in 2019
• All guests will have to be COVID tested and vaccinated
• There will also be a 'COVID coordinator' on hand to ensure people follow COVID precautions
• It comes amid a rise in coronavirus cases from the delta variant
• Last week, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recommended that even vaccinated people wear face masks
• Now, Obama is being criticized online for holding the soiree in a pandemic

Former President Barack Obama has come under fire for his plans to host nearly 500 people at his Martha's Vineyard mansion for his 60th birthday, despite a nationwide rise in COVID cases.

The former president is set to turn 60 on August 4, and is said to be planning a large soiree at his 7,000-square-foot mansion in the Edgarton section of Martha's Vineyard next weekend.

An official familiar with the plans told Axios that there are now 475 confirmed guests for the party - including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Steven Spielberg - with more than 200 staff members.

All guests will have to be COVID tested and vaccinated and the party will be held outdoors on the Obama's $12 billion 30-acre waterfront property.

But Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday on CNN that big parties should be avoided.

'If you're talking about a small party like I might have at my house for six or eight people who are all fully vaccinated, I do not believe, at this point, we need to put masks on to be next to each other,' he said.

'But if there were 100 people, and, of course, how are you really going to be sure about people's...

Read More HERE