{"id":8423,"date":"2021-04-29T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torontonightclub.com\/ca\/?p=8423"},"modified":"2021-04-28T15:47:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T19:47:45","slug":"thousands-of-ravers-to-test-relaxing-of-covid-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torontonightclub.com\/ca\/thousands-of-ravers-to-test-relaxing-of-covid-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Ravers to Test Relaxing of Covid Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of people at a mass nightclub rave in the U.K. this week will be a key test of whether live events halted during the pandemic can reopen at full capacity as planned from the end of June.<\/p>\n

The two-day event in Liverpool, northwest England, is part of a national research program which so far appears to show people are happy to be tested for coronavirus to secure entry to large-scale events.<\/p>

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There are also no early signs that live events are spreading the disease, according to government scientist Paul Monks, and the program is expected to move to its second phase next month — with live events held at a \u201cfull range\u201d of indoor and outdoor venues with \u201cdifferent scales\u201d of capacity.<\/p>\n

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Getting entertainment and nightlife venues up and running is a central part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s \u201croad map\u201d for reopening the economy. The target is June 21, and the government has signaled that nightclubs may need to demand some form of Covid certification — either a negative test result or proof of vaccination — to grant entry.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The sector is one of the hardest hit by coronavirus restrictions, and ministers have said the gradual lifting of measures must be irreversible to prevent another costly lockdown. The U.K. has already suffered its deepest recession in 300 years, and the government says it has earmarked more than 400 billion pounds ($556 billion) to spur the recovery.<\/p>

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Six thousand people are expected over two days at the event hosted by promoter Circus over Friday and Saturday, with no masks or social distancing required — the first U.K. club night in over a year.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pre-Covid Times\u2019<\/h3>\n

The \u201cwhole point\u201d of the trial is for people to behave like \u201cpre-Covid times,\u201d event founder Yousef Zaher, best known as DJ Yousef, said in an interview. \u201cA life with or beyond the restrictions of Covid is something that\u2019s really, really exciting in terms of the music industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appetite from clubbers for events after June 21 is \u201cabsolutely enormous,\u201d with large numbers of tickets sold across the country, he said. \u201cThe DJs, the artists, the people who work behind the scenes — everybody just wants to get back to work and become self-sufficient again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monks, chief scientific adviser at the U.K. Business Department, said scientists would be trying to understand \u201cwhere people are in nightclubs, how much time they spend dancing in contact or in small groups.\u201d While many people think of clubs as \u201chot and sweaty,\u201d this often isn\u2019t the case, he said. \u201cThe idea that clubs are poorly ventilated, is that true, is there any evidence of that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The event in Liverpool is part of a broader program of trials to explore how the use of Covid testing, ventilation, social distancing, and face coverings can help reopen large venues safely. Sports events including soccer matches have been the focus so far.<\/p>\n

Easing Lockdown<\/h3>\n