Missouri health officials call for self-quarantine of partiers at Lake of the Ozarks - NBC News

Images of a jampacked pool party at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri over the Memorial Day weekend prompted St.

Louis County Public Health Department cited news reports of large crowds at Lake of the Ozarks, where hundreds of people were recorded squeezed closely together amid the coronavirus epidemic.

Rex Archer, director of the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department, also tweeted his dismay.

"Anyone who didn't practice CDC, DHSS, and KCMO Health Department social distancing guidance should self quarantine for 14 days if they have any compassion for others," Archer wrote alongside a video of partying at Lake of the Ozarks.

Akins was identified as being from Blue Springs, Missouri, near Kansas City.

Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms said in a statement Monday that it was a "record weekend" at Lake of the Ozarks but that a lack of social distancing is not a crime and that his department had no authority to enforce it.

As of Monday, there had been more than 12,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Missouri, with 685 deaths attributed to the disease, according to the state health department's website.

Kansas City, Missouri, had 962 confirmed cases and 22 deaths due to COVID-19, according to the city's website.