The dance floor might look a little less crowded for club-goers.
Image Credit: INSTAGRAM / Sapphire Kelowna
March 13, 2020 - 7:00 PM
The B.C. government has imposed a ban on public gatherings of 250 or more people in response to the novel coronavirus, so some nightclubs in Kamloops and Kelowna are trying to navigate an uncertain future to abide by those rules.
Pam Jacques, manager of communications for Northland Properties, which oversees Shark Club in Kamloops, says the location is working to minimize the spread of the virus by decreasing capacity by almost 50 per cent.
“We’re reading the public health notice and following that on a regular basis… we’ve decided to take it down to 150 while the situation is going on just to make sure were doing the right thing,” Jacques says.
Normally, the venue has a capacity of 277.
Jacques says there is a response team now in place at the head office, and says the cleaning schedules have ramped up, while hand sanitizer dispensers have been put around the bar.
In Kelowna, two nightclubs are still in the process of figuring out what to do in regards to the ban.
Eddy Racano and his brother Tony own Gotham and Sapphire nightclubs in Kelowna, and Racano says he and his brother will work with promoters and keep the guest numbers down to meet the provincial guidelines, although they haven’t yet made any solid plans for future events.
“We have a show at Sapphire tonight so we plan on opening, but keeping at the number that was requested,” Racano says. “I’m working with my promoters to see what we're going to do, but I don’t have a 100 per cent answer… were taking it day by day, so were not too sure.”
Racano says he can’t estimate the capacity for each of the clubs, and the information is not available online. He says it has been difficult to anticipate what is needed, and hasn’t yet increased hand sanitizer availability.
“We have signs everywhere recommending washing your hands, stuff like that… it’s been tough to get hand sanitizer, so that’s on back order,” Racano says. “It came up pretty quick on everyone.”
Racano says a statement will soon be made on both venue’s social media pages.
iNFOnews.ca has not heard back from the owner of Cactus Jacks in Kamloops to confirm their plans during the large gathering ban.
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