The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The discovery of a cluster in Bordeaux casts doubt on the reopening of nightclubs

2021-07-19T13:13:11.592Z


The executive brandished the threat of closing these establishments if outbreaks of contamination were to multiply there during the summer.


Bad news for party-goers: the discovery of cases of Covid-19 in a nightclub in Bordeaux, despite the many restrictions surrounding the reopening of these establishments, casts doubt on their maintenance this summer.

The government has toughened its tone, brandishing the threat of a general shutdown if this type of situation were to increase.

Read also: With the reopening of nightclubs, a feeling of freedom on borrowed time

Asked about

FranceInfo

on

Monday, the government spokesperson explained that he was watching “

very carefully what happened in Bordeaux

”. "

Extremely heavy checks take place in nightclubs,

" said Gabriel Attal, but if "

situations like this one

" are to multiply in the coming weeks, "

the question of keeping the nightclubs open

"

will arise

. The member of the executive, however, assured that the rules, including the control of the health pass at the entrance of the establishment, were respected "

in the vast majority of cases

By professionals.

People could also be infected between the time they perform their test and the evenings, inflating the balance sheet.

To date, at least 35 cases of contamination have been identified after parties organized on July 9, 10 and 13 in the Hangar FL establishment in Bordeaux.

The events brought together "

750 people per evening

", indicates the Regional Health Agency of Nouvelle Aquitaine in

Le Figaro

, and the first cases were detected on Thursday, July 15.

The teams are continuing their work to try to detect other possible cases, and the ARS has asked "

the establishment to disseminate vigilance messages to invite people who participated in these evenings to be tested and to be vaccinated.

".

The ARS also advises participants to wear a mask inside these establishments, except for dancing, and recalls that the control of the health pass by the organizers must be "

rigorous

".

A

possible "

human failure

"

On the Hangar FL Facebook page, Internet users denounced the silence of the organizers.

Thank you to Hangar FL for not making any communication since Friday, opening night, concerning the huge cluster that you are doing.

I am positive, and not the only one!

One user wrote, for example.

"

After 2 am, it does not verify anything,

" noted another.

What to remove the doubt on the quality of the controls carried out at the entry.

Manager of HFL Productions and affiliated with the club in question - without being the manager - Thierry Coste ensures that "

everything was in place

" during these evenings to scrupulously respect government directives. "

Security was present, they had the phones to scan the health passes, the information was done

" and the gauge was limited to 750 presales, he says. However, he cannot certify that the security personnel at the entrance did not "

take it lightly

" at times. The investigation will have to determine precisely what happened, but "

it may be a human failure

" at the entrance, he notes. However, it would be an exaggeration to speak of a lack of control.

The health protocol governing the takeover of establishments is a failure, adds Thierry Coste: "

we did not impose on artists and employees to arrive with an antigen test or negative PCR

", unlike customers. The latter can therefore play, and the employees work, without their health status being known. However, one of the DJs who officiated during one of these evenings in Bordeaux announced a few days after having tested positive. "

He contaminated at least one other DJ, and our artistic director, who worked with him,

" says our interlocutor. "

How many cases like ours will be needed for the government to see that there is a breach

" on this point, Thierry Coste is surprised.

Read also: Why only a minority of nightclubs will open this summer

The professional recalls that the tests used to validate the sanitary pass are not 100% reliable either, and he points out the slowness of the reaction of the ARS, which contacted the nightclub on Sunday, “

at 11:45 am

», Several days after the discovery of the positive cases.

These are all elements that must be taken into account to improve the system in the future.

Reinforced controls in sight

The case of this outbreak is far from trivial: night workers know they are expected at the turn, and they intend to reassure the authorities as well as the customers of the risks of contamination in their premises. After long months of closure, the stakes, in terms of both image and attractiveness, are enormous, in particular since the emergence of infectious outbreaks in nightclubs in the Netherlands and Spain in recent weeks. "

The health pass is not infallible,

" warned the boss of the National Union of Discotheques and Leisure Places (SNDLL), Patrick Malvaës, in a blog note.

The government, which relied on a strict framework to allow a smooth recovery of nightclubs, is closely following the case of Bordeaux.

As a result of the discovery of the home, the executive toughened its tone on Sunday: a note was sent by the Minister of the Interior to the prefects, asking them to ensure "

particularly the respect of the control of the health pass by the establishments the applicant now, and in particular the night establishments

”.

Gérald Darmanin also brandishes the threat of "

administrative closure

" for places that do not control the sanitary passes or show lightness.

An "

example

"?

In the meantime, Hangar FL is in the hot seat. "

I said to the manager: you risk being the turkey of the farce

", notes Thierry Coste, for whom the place could be used as an "

example

" by the authorities. But the establishment “

does not deserve

” this bad press, he regrets, while all the health rules were in place.

Still, the possibility of closing all nightclubs, if the Bordeaux case occurs again, worries professionals.

"

We are not going to penalize an entire profession for a drift, it would not be acceptable

", warns the general delegate of the SNDLL, Christian Jouny.

The majority of some 25% of professionals who have reopened since July 9 are "

absolutely rigorous,

" he assures: "

operators who have been closed for 16 months, who have lost everything, do not want to run the risk to find themselves closed, deprived of the aid which remains to them,

”notes the representative.

The managers are "

very scrupulous

”, Even if some security providers can be more lax and must be reframed, if necessary.

Read also: After nightclubs, the sanitary pass is extended to dancing bars and restaurants

"

There is a problem with an establishment, but a swallow does not make spring

", nuance Christian Jouny: a specific case can not symbolize the whole of a profession and "

the vast majority of managers are in nails,

”he hammers.

The nightlife is therefore crossing its fingers so that the case of Bordeaux does not repeat itself elsewhere.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-07-19

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.