Nightclubs are reopening in Vancouver and here's what they're going to be like
Nightclubs are slowly reopening in Vancouver, but don't be expecting to tear up the dance floor à la John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever just yet; there are still some strict safety measures in place.
Studio Nightclub & Lounge in Vancouver says that we all can expect some changes when the club reopens on Saturday.
The club is asking everyone to make reservations in advance. Tables will be spaced out by at least two metres, and there will be a maximum of six people at each table.
Studio Nightclub is offering table service and limited bar service, and it says that the dance floor is off-limits for now — although "everyone will have space to dance in their own designated area."
Located about 80 kilometres away, Koncept Nightclub in Nanaimo is also planning to reopen its doors on Saturday with a number of safety measures in place.
The nightclub has painted glow-in-the-dark lines on the floor to guide foot traffic, as well as adding plenty of hand sanitizer throughout the club. Patrons are asked to keep to their designated booths.
Meanwhile in other parts of B.C., nightclubs have already reopened; the Carlton Club in Esquimalt opened its doors on June 13 after shutting down for almost three months.
Carlton Club Manager Jeremy Vail told CFAX 1070 that the nightclub took measurements to determine seating capacity, adding that they can safely accommodate 85 people while observing social distancing guidelines.
Vail also acknowledged that it can be difficult to communicate while wearing a face mask in a noisy club, but that patrons were getting creative during opening night.
"There's a lot of sign language," he said. "There's other ways to communicate."
Liquid Zoo in Kelowna, B.C. and The Queen's in Nanaimo, B.C. have also both opened their doors with safety measures such as barriers between tables firmly in place.
Not everyone is on board with nightclubs reopening just yet, however; Pierre's Champagne Lounge in Vancouver recently came under fire for posting a video of what appeared to be a packed lounge.
However, General Manager Selina Loum has since told CityNews that the video is misleading.
She says that the lounge has put Plexiglass barriers around the bar and tables, and that most of the staff are wearing masks.
"It's supposed to be all bartenders and servers are wearing masks," Loum told CityNews. "With the one video, she probably didn't wear it at the time. If you see the other videos, most of the staff are wearing masks."
Staff at Pierre's Champagne Lounge in #Vancouver (video below) say the rules were largely being followed as they re-opened this week. But, the @BCRFA doesn't agree and says if more cases like this pop up, BC's top doctor could re-introduce restrictions for the industry. pic.twitter.com/J5s7qFl8hh
— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) June 12, 2020
Provinces outside of British Columbia have yet to allow nightclubs to reopen, and although clubs in B.C. have been given the green light, it's certainly not a free-for-all.
On Monday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said that nightclubs will have to be re-purposed, and that dance floors and singing are both still out of the question.
Some nightclubs are repurposing so they can fit #covid19 guidelines like physical distancing, etc. Dance floors are not going to happen right now, Dr. Henry says. Singing in a group can be dangerous with this virus, she says.
— Tracy Sherlock (@tracysherlock) June 15, 2020
Manitoba was initially planning to let nightclubs reopen dance floors and walk-up bar service in the next few days as part of Phase 3 of its reopening plan, but the province has since excluded both of those areas from its draft plan.
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