VANCOUVER -- Dozens of young people congregated on Vancouver's Granville Street Friday night, failing to maintain two metres of physical distance between them and many not wearing masks.

Video of the gathering posted to social media shows a large group shouting and dancing while loud music plays.

The scenes were recorded after a week in which health officials repeatedly warned the public about the dangers of such gatherings as the province experiences a resurgence of cases of COVID-19.

Vancouver police said in a statement that they were in the area at the time the gathering began and quickly shut it down.

"Shortly before midnight, a group of people had set up large speakers with music attracting people to congregate and dance to the music," police said. "VPD officers in the area did stop the DJs from playing the music and shortly after the people stopped congregating."

The incident mirrors one seen on Vancouver Island Friday night, in which roughly 100 young people were recorded congregating in a suburban neighbourhood outside Victoria.

Earlier in the week, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said private parties have been a "significant source" of the province's recent increase in COVID-19 cases. B.C. has gone from fewer than 200 active cases of the coronavirus at the start of July to more than 600 as of Friday afternoon.

"I want to make it clear that this weekend, if you have banquet halls where a private party takes place, you will be seeing environmental health officers, and people in public health," Dix said Thursday. "It's our expectation that the limits on the number of people at parties will be in place this weekend. Everywhere in B.C. that we can get at, we're going to ensure that that expectation is followed everywhere."

He called the message a warning, and said if that expectation isn't met, "consequences must follow."

Those consequences will not be coming from the Vancouver Police Department, however. The VPD said in its statement that it "will continue to educate people on the importance of physical distancing."

"As of now, Vancouver police have not been issuing tickets for non-compliance with social distancing/isolating/quarantining," the VPD said. "The province along with the (provincial health officer) has taken the lead on this and officers specifically assigned to enforcement with the province will be enforcing any social distancing laws."

While Friday's gathering happened outside, bars along the Granville strip say they have their own enforcement options for any unsafe behaviour that may happen in their venues.

Curtis Robinson - chair of downtown Vancouver's BarWatch program, which aims to keep violent and unsafe behaviour out of bars and clubs - told CTV News Vancouver the organization's existing code of conduct for patrons can be applied to COVID-19-related infractions as well.

"If you become that problem patron that decides they're not going to follow the rules that are set out in (provincial health officer Dr.) Bonnie Henry's latest directive, then it's our choice as a bar owner to say, 'OK, you're not involved in violent crime, but you are being a problem patron. You're not paying attention to the rules, and you're acting in a dangerous manner to other people,'" Robinson said.

Problem patrons can be banned from BarWatch venues, with initial bans usually imposed for three months, he said.