As countries start easing curbs, some people follow rules, some don’t
The Chinese have started returning to nightclubs after coronavirus restrictions were eased.
In the US, over the Memorial Day long weekend, people also took advantage of the easing of curbs.
At 44KW, a club for electronic music lovers in Shanghai, customers sat, danced and mingled with little sign of social distancing during the weekend.
The club re-opened in mid-March and it checks the temperature of every customer and gets them to register their details.
Staff, including bouncers, bartenders and waiters, wear masks and gloves all the time. Customers don't have to wear masks but many do.
Some glasses have been replaced with plastic cups and the club has installed hand sanitiser dispensers throughout.
Door handles and toilets are disinfected every hour while the entire club is disinfected every day before and after opening, saidclub founder Charles Guo.
"I checked with my friends about what types of precautions were taken at each venue before deciding which one to go," 23-year-old clubber Cao Douzi told Reuters outside 44KW.
China reported 11 new cases on Sunday, up from three a day earlier, the National Health Commission reported. All the new infections were imported cases.
In the US, while most people stuck to social distancing rules, some packed beaches in Florida and other gulf states forced the authorities to break up large gatherings.
Videos posted on social media showed parties in states where people crowded into pools and clubs elbow-to-elbow.
FIREFIGHTERS
One such party at a Houston club called Cle prompted the city's Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday to order firefighters across the metropolitan area to enforce social distancing rules.
More than 250 crowd complaints were phoned into the city by Sunday evening.
"There are too many people who are coming together going to some of our clubs, our bars, to swimming pool parties, with no social distancing, no masks," Mr Turner said.
"It's clear people are crowding in, looks like to maximum capacity, almost on top of one another."
The US has the highest number of infections in the world at 1.6 million. And its death toll is expected to exceed 100,000 by June 1. - REUTERS
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