[EN IMAGES] COVID-19: The Big Last Chance Concerts This Weekend

Nightclubs are calling on their clients to “dance one last time” this weekend, but experts are warning Quebecers that it’s a golden opportunity to sign up for alternative Omicron before Christmas.

“We invite you to meet this Sunday for the last party of the fiesta dance,” we can read on the Facebook page of Le Dagobert Bar, in Quebec. Newspaper I found dozens of ads like this on social media.

Many young bar owners have called for a party and from Monday dancing and karaoke will once again be banned in Quebec. Already, on Friday, revelers shrugged their hips without masks or walked away at county discos.

“Irresponsible”

“I find this completely irresponsible. It’s very conceited that you go to these places now. But the worst thing is that these young people are probably going to see their grandparents at Christmas and spreading the Omicron virus that we still know so little about,” worries Helen Karabin, Professor Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Montreal.

M^I Carabin specifies that this weekend’s nightclubs, even with a mask on, are “creating super-popular events” due to the new variables.

“If Quebecers really want to make the decision to go out like this this weekend and not take precautions, they also shouldn’t have Christmas parties and isolate themselves for two weeks. It’s a solution,” an epidemiologist analyzes.

The party that degenerates

However, the staggering increase in COVID-19 cases in Quebec is far from assuaging the desire to party for owners of Kampai Garden, a bar in downtown Montreal.

^{samuel haas / instagram}

Young people took part on Friday, without masks or distances, at Campai Park in Montreal. The bar decided to celebrate New Year’s Day this weekend in advance since on Monday, dancing and karaoke will once again be banned in Quebec.

The foundation has decided to hold an early New Year’s celebration on Friday while the ballroom is still open.

In photos posted to Instagram by one of the owners, Samuel Haas, hundreds of customers are seen dancing without masks, without distance, as if COVID-19 had all but disappeared over the weekend.

^{samuel haas / instagram}

play with fire

“There will certainly be outbreaks in these places. I see in the video that people do not have face coverings, they are completely liberated, they are completely stuck, and all conditions are in place to spread the virus,” emphasizes Benoit Barbeau, virologist and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences from UQAM .

^{samuel haas / instagram}

More dangerous, Mr. Barbu adds, is the number of people who will end up in hospital after attending Campai Park. “Announcing these events and appearing there before the holidays is not the most correct option,” he warns.

Our requests for an interview with the owners of Kampai Garden were not answered yesterday afternoon.

Legault explains himself

Yesterday morning, François Legault published a message on social media, admitting to having a difficult week, especially because of the announcements that were made last Thursday before Christmas.

“During the press conference, I said it wasn’t a popularity contest and that pride should be set aside when the health of Quebecers is at stake. I know I disappointed a lot of people. You might be mad at me or the situation, that’s fine. Know it doesn’t leave me indifferent,” We can read there.