Regina pub under fire for unmasked, dancing patrons calls it an 'isolated incident'
The Tap Brewhouse and Liquor Store in Regina said a video taken by a concerned patron over the weekend shows a "very isolated incident."
In the video posted on social media Friday night, there are about a dozen young people — some of them unmasked — dancing and mingling with other tables.
"They were asked to leave, which they did in a timely manner. Unfortunately they decided to dance their way out the door," The Tap's management and ownership group wrote in a statement posted to its Facebook page Saturday.
The statement goes on to apologize, noting the pub has "strictly followed the guidelines implemented from day one of the pandemic."
As a result of this incident, The Tap said it has "implemented more supervision and education" for the safety of its customers.
Under the Saskatchewan government's COVID-19 guidelines for food and beverage services, "there should be no movement of customers between bars and eating areas."
Customers are allowed to sit at the bar, as long as there's a physical barrier and they can physically distance themselves by two metres. If there's no barrier, then patrons must stay three metres apart.
The Regina Police Service said it is aware of the video, which is under investigation by an inspector.
A spokesperson tells CBC News the inspector will review it and decide the next steps with the consultation of the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
In an emailed statement, the Ministry of Health said "local public health officials have received the report of this instance and are currently investigating."
The owner of the Tap Brewhouse said he will not provide further comment until the investigations are complete.
As of Monday, no public health violation tickets had been handed out.
'Superspreader event waiting to happen'
While no cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the Tap Brewhouse, there are nine active outbreaks connected to Saskatchewan restaurants.
Most recently, a superspreader event has been declared at Crackers Restaurant Lounge and Karaoke in Saskatoon.
Kyle Anderson, an assistant professor at University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine, says meeting friends for a few drinks can lead to similar events.
He saw the video when it first circulated online, and shared it on his own social media accounts.
"It's a superspreader event waiting to happen," Anderson said. "Hopefully no one there was COVID positive, and went home and everything will be fine."
But he cautioned that disregarding current health measures could lead to stricter restrictions in the future.
"There were power outages from the storm last week and people were thankful that there were restaurants that were open where they could warm up and eat," Anderson said. "There's critical things that we don't want to shut down, but if other people are abusing that privilege then the only other thing we have left is to do a lockdown."
