550 People Who Went to Strip Club Got Some Bad News

Worker tests positive for COVID at Toronto's Brass Rail Tavern, dinged for flouting safety protocols
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 17, 2020 8:11 AM CDT
Popular Strip Club Reopens, Possibly Exposes 500-Plus
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/Konstantin T.)

A worker at a Toronto strip club has tested positive for COVID-19, but that isn't the only problem the venue has. Per the Guardian, health officials in the Canadian city say that up to 550 additional people may have been exposed to the virus at the Brass Rail Tavern, just days after it officially opened back up for business at the end of July. It's not clear what job the infected employee, who worked four shifts in early August, holds at the club. But an initial probe by Toronto Public Health has found the Brass Rail didn't follow proper safety protocols upon reopening, including not adhering to social distancing guidelines between tables and between staff and customers. "We have issued them a notice of noncompliance and we will be going back ... for another inspection," TPH's Dr. Vinita Dubey said Friday, per CP24.

The club did have a contract tracing log that customers were asked to sign, but public health experts are wondering how useful that may prove, considering the venue itself. "You know how long it's going to take them to chase down 550 guys, half of which probably gave fake ID or information?" an infectious diseases professor from the University of Toronto says, per the AP. Dubey assures patrons only the health department will have access to that info, which will be trashed after 30 days. Ontario Premier Doug Ford noted his sympathies not only for those who may become ill, but also for those who have to tell their significant others how they may have been exposed. "Sorry for the spouse, seriously," he told reporters Friday, per the Guardian. "Man, I wouldn't want to be on the end of that one." As of Friday, the club was still open. (More strip club stories.)

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