Without masks or social distancing, thousands of people in Liverpool party in warehouses as part of a test of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the presence of a vaccine.
In a warehouse in the city of Liverpool (UK) on the evening of May 1, about 3,000 people danced passionately to techno music.
Several girls in bikini, hand-passing the bottle of rose wine is already half empty. Next to that, a middle-aged man jumped so passionately that his back was wet with sweat. They all beam brightly, don’t wear masks, let alone social distance, follow New York Times. “This is the first and possibly the last dance. So I’ll enjoy it, ”shouted Nick Evans (28 years old), a legal advisor before immersing himself in the crowd. Party events in Liverpool are an attempt to test how feasible the reopening is in practice. Photo: Anthony Devlin / Getty. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK in March 2020, nightclubs have remained closed. If people want to, people have to go to illegal parties. Last summer, thousands of partygoers did this, giving UK police and lawmakers a headache. However, the situation may change soon. In February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that thanks to the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, he hopes all restrictions on social life in the country will be lifted by June 21. That would include allowing clubs to reopen, based on recent trials at Liverpool. Low risk Liverpool nightclub is the opening event of the aforementioned tests. After that, a pop concert for 5,000 people in the circus tent was also held in the city. Some scholars criticize these parties as the “human guinea pig experiment”, but scientist Iain Buchan from the University of Liverpool, who led the trial, confirmed the rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the UK. so low that the likelihood of an outbreak is very small. “According to official data, 69 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Liverpool in the week prior to the event. The risk of having someone virus-positive there could be 1 in 5,000, ”Buchan analyzed. In order to get inside, participants must take the Covid-19 test at one of the 4 official quarantine centers in Liverpool, then upload the results to the website to link with their ticket. However, once the screening was passed, the crowd attending the party freely acted as if a pandemic had never happened. Does not require wearing a mask, social distance, even using hand sanitizer. Participants must test Covid-19 and then upload the results to the website to link with their entry ticket. Photo: Carl Recine / Reuters. “It feels like Covid-19 never existed here. It’s strange and relieved to have the mask removed after a year of doing this, ”said Aidan Crisp (20 years old), a student. Adele Schofield (50 years old), a lawyer, said: “I was a bit worried before coming. But as soon as I entered, I almost burst into tears because I saw everyone dancing like everything was normal again, ”she said. Alice Mitchell (20 years old) said the only thing that surprised her was the ban on carrying hand sanitizer. A security guard made Mitchell throw it away while drinking. Buchan says the trials are about finding ways in which clubs can reopen. This includes whether people are satisfied with pre-testing and linking results to admission tickets; follow the movements of everyone inside; Uses sensors to check carbon dioxide levels and ventilation. Many people are happy to take off their masks to party in Liverpool. Photo: Carl Recine / Reuters. In March, Dutch researchers conducted a similar experiment with the participation of 1,300 party attendees. “They only see the masks for the first 5 minutes,” said Buchan. Then everyone just threw them away ”. The UK has more than 1,400 nightclubs, according to the Night Industry Association, which represents these types of entertainment venues. Many of them were forced to lay off staff because of the pandemic. Others have a chance to reopen. Fabric, London’s popular 1,500-person club, sold out tickets for a 42-hour reopening party starting June 25. The Cause, the London club, was also close to selling out tickets for the same event that weekend. Owners of four nightclubs in the UK say they welcome Liverpool’s experimentation, but feel it needs more to reflect the different types of spaces. “We are not a warehouse,” said Dan Beaumont, owner of the Dalston Superstore, London’s famous club for the LGBTQ + community. If British clubs were to reopen in June, this would be considered anomalous in Western Europe. In Berlin (Germany), entertainment venues are scheduled to reopen outdoors this summer when dancers are asked to wear masks. On April 29, French President Emmanuel Macron said he hopes to lift most of the restrictions in the country by June 30, but the nightclubs will remain closed. Many DJs have said they want clubs to reopen as soon as possible, not just because of their work. DJ Marea Stamper said after performing at the event in Liverpool: “We went to the nightclub to dance, drink, fall in love and meet friends. It creates communities and cutting it off is terrifying ”. In Liverpool, that sense of “community” was evident at 19:30 when Yousef Zahar, DJ and co-owner of the Circus event organizer, stepped onto the stage. In the first song, he included a house tune named When We Were Free. Then, when a green light shone through the crowd, Zahar played more cards Free (roughly translated: Free) , the hit of the ’90s. As soon as the chorus “You are free, do what you want”, paper fireworks were launched and the crowd began to sing along. For the rest of the night, they will follow the song’s advice. Paper fireworks exploded in the sky, scattered throughout the exciting party space. Photo: Anthony Devlin / Getty.
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