Sally Mao / Staff Reporter

Social gatherings will continue to promote the spread of coronavirus in B.C.

According to an article by CBC News, an incident involving a ‘trivia night’ in a pub at the Fraser Health Authority has led to 24 cases of major Covid-19. A recent trivia night at the St. James Well Pub in Port Moody where 50 people were gathered and 24 people ended up testing positive for COVID-19.

“Tuesday that 40 percent of exposures right now are linked to gatherings.” Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

According to understanding, Gleneagle Grade 11 student Rhya Wang said in a mass interview that during the covid-19 period, people should know that gatherings will cause the spread of disease and that the party is only a temporary joy. The bars that are still open provide a venue for the spread of the new coronavirus. She does not think that the bar will continue to open when there are no guests, but if the bar does not open, the guests may not have a party, at least the party time will be reduced. As students, we should not go to densely populated places, even bars. Wearing masks in public places and keeping a distance are the best self-protection measures.

Fraser Health recently added the trivia night at the St. Jame’s well Pub in Port Moody on February 2 to the area’s COVID-19 public exposure page.

In a Feb. 12, Facebook post “Both staff and customers contracted COVID-19 between Feb. 2 and Feb. 7. The pub shut down for the weekend to do a deep clean and was slated to reopen on Feb. 16. ” Said the St. James’s Well Pub.

The pub owner declined to be interviewed by CBC News. According to the understanding, Gleneagle EAL teacher Mr. Hunter said in interviews with the masses that he believes that the owner is afraid of taking responsibility for causing new cases. If the boss closes the bar or prohibits people from gathering at the bar, then these people will not be infected.

After this incident, the Ministry of Health stated that the current public health requirements require bars and restaurants not to hold any activities that attract people to gather together, including trivia contests.

Original news articles by Karin Larsen at CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/24-covid-cases-pub-trivia-fraser-health-1.5917425