Maskless patrons in crowded B.C. clubs, bars this long weekend

For the first time since the pandemic began, people were allowed to dance at indoor gatherings. And it appears many flocked to the dance floors at nightclubs and bars this Family Day long weekend.

Several videos on social media at various establishments in Vancouver showed large crowds of maskless dancers.

“(I'm) not surprised, because the message that was shared by public health officers really made you think that the worst was over and we were moving towards 'living with the virus,'" said Dr. Lyn Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician and member of Protect Our Province B.C., an advocacy group of health-care workers and researchers.

"And you know, people are so tired, so they're going to want to latch on to anything that aligns with where they want to be at."

An indoor mask mandate remains in effect, meaning people can take off their mask once they are seated at a table, but they must put the mask back on when dancing and mingling.

“You put yourself at risk of breathing in the virus. And this is particularly true in crowded environments where there's no capacity limit, and where you have no idea what is the ventilation… What's going to happen is we're going to get more cases, and it's entirely predictable,” Filatrault said.

She said part of the problem is the lack of messaging from the province that the novel coronavirus is airborne, and more needs to be done to improve ventilation in buildings.

“The waves are created by bad policy. So right now this is what we're living,” she said.

Last week when Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the easing of restrictions, she said people will have to assess their own risk and self-police when it comes to mask-wearing.

“All of us have gotten used to wearing masks. So I don't believe enforcement is going to be a large issue. I know there are some places that are trying to make points around these things. But really, people speak with their comfort level. And we expect people to do that and to manage their own risk in most settings,” the provincial health officer said at the time.

But it appears not everyone is following the guidelines.

CTV News reached out to staff at several clubs and establishments, and those who responded back said they are trying their best by reminding customers of the rules at the door, then reminding them again inside if they are not following the mask mandate.

“I've heard everyone's been doing a great job of checking passports. The mask-wearing is a little challenging when you're trying to explain to a 20-year-old that they can dance and mingle with strangers but have to wear masks while doing it. But all of our COVID safety plans are being followed and we know everybody in the establishment is vaccinated,” said Jeff Guignard, executive director of Alliance of Beverage Licensees.

Filatrault said businesses only check if customers have two doses, not if they’ve had their boosters. She thinks the vaccine program needs to be updated since being double vaccinated doesn't always protect against the disease.

She said this was evident over the holidays when the Omicron variant was spreading rapidly.

“These people thought they were protected with two doses. Many people ended up getting infected because they spent time indoors in a poorly ventilated setting, with removing their mask amongst people who are outside their bubble,” she said.

She believes the crowded scenes at the various establishments could possibly be super-spreader events and by Friday, people may start showing symptoms.