Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer on Saturday morning condemned the actions of what he said were "hundreds" of people who congregated at 13th Street and West Broadway on Friday night.

Fischer and other Kentucky officials have pleaded with residents to follow social-distancing recommendations and not gather in large groups, to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.

But on Friday night, Fischer said it looked like "hundreds of people" gathered, "reveling in the fact that, 'We're together, and we're not going to listen to the establishment.'"

"Let me just say here, young people: Rebellion is a normal instinct and thinking that you're immune from any kind of damage. The virus doesn't care about that. Science doesn't care about that. The virus is coming for all of us. It's just looking for an opening," Fischer said during a Facebook live video on Saturday.

Videos that were publicly shared on the social media app Snapchat show a large crowd gathered early Saturday morning at the intersection of 13th and Breckinridge streets, where people raced cars and motorcycles.

This isn't the first larger gathering reported in Louisville this week, despite calls for social distancing.

On Wednesday, social media videos captured a physical altercation that featured at least a dozen people outside of the Indi's Fast Food Restaurant on 10th Street and West Broadway. A Louisville police spokesperson later said officers responded to the incident and took a report.

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Fischer said the city will dispatch police "as best we can, but we can't cover everybody, and government is not the answer to everybody." He's asked for Louisville residents to call Metro 311 to report large gatherings.

"When there's large crowds, that's how the virus spreads. Look at what happened in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. We have three deaths in our city right now, all tragic. New Orleans is over 50 right now and that number is going to escalate very rapidly — we're seeing the same thing in New York," Fischer said.

"That's what's going to happen when large crowds gather, like what we saw last night. ... Please reflect and say, 'OK, I made a mistake, but I'm not going to make it again.'"

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Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said Saturday afternoon that the department was "aware of the photos that are on social media last night of (a) large gathering of people."

He added that he was not aware of any arrest or "other law enforcement action."

Mitchell referred a reporter to LMPD's Facebook page, where the agency advised citizens "not to gather in large groups due to the coronavirus."

In one post, LMPD said it was being made aware of "large gatherings at parks where people are in close contact."

"We will respond to these complaints. When we do it takes us (away) from potentially urgent calls," it said. "It is NOT safe to gather in crowds. Please, the safety of our city depends on us! We want everyone to stay healthy by practicing social distancing!"

Live updates:Get the latest information on COVID-19 in Kentucky

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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended limiting social gatherings of 10 people or more as the COVID-19 virus has rapidly spread around the country.

According to the CDC, the virus is spread person-to-person between people who are within 6 feet of one another. People are most contagious when they're symptomatic, but some spread is possible before people show symptoms.

The virus that causes COVID-19 has been spreading easily in some communities — part of why officials are urging social-distancing.

During his daily COVID-19 briefing on Saturday, Gov. Andy Beshear brought up the reports of street racing in Louisville.

"If hundreds of people come together, several people are going to die because of it," Beshear said. "That is what we are facing. We have to be better at passing that test of humanity."

Asked how the city planned to prevent such gatherings from happening again, Fischer spokeswoman Jean Porter said Saturday that the city was deploying "a variety of communication tools" to spread information on staying home and practicing social distancing.

The city would also deploy an "extra police presence" in areas where people are congregating in large numbers, Porter said.

"If these measures don't work, the city will have to consider more stringent tactics," she said. "We urge all residents, and the media, to help us share the importance of staying home, and practicing social distancing if you must go out."

Earlier this week, in a move to further contain the spread of the virus, Fischer closed all Metro Parks playgrounds, basketball courts and soccer, baseball and football fields, adding that he had hoped the step wouldn't be necessary.

On Thursday, Fischer said parks department employees had also removed all basketball rims at city parks, in addition to taking down all tennis or pickleball nets and locking up all soccer goals.

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"We need parents to step up, know where their kids are, keep them where you can see them. And I know that's hard, too, and almost impossible sometimes," Fischer said. "But if you love your child, if you love your family, if you love your parents and grandparents, that's what you've got to do."

And he warned about what steps officials might be forced to take if people continue to not go along with Beshear's recommendations on staying "healthy at home."

A shelter-in-place order, he said, means there's no movement. The opposite of the "healthy at home" order would be a "total lockdown on the community, where you cannot get outside to spread the virus," he said.

"The more people don't comply with our directives to stay at home, the stricter the movement will become in the city. Please work with us," he added. "You have to stay socially distant from each other."

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