‘No Anything In The Champagne Room’: Ontario Shuts Strip Clubs

The province of Ontario, Canada is implementing strict new public health measures to help ‘stop the spread of COVID-19,’ which includes last call at 11 p.m. at bars, a province-wide shutdown of all strip clubs, and a requirement that all businesses adhere to recommendations and instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health in regards to screening for the virus.

“Over the past five weeks, Ontario has experienced an increase in the rate of new COVID-19 cases. Private social gatherings continue to be a significant source of transmission in many local communities, along with outbreak clusters in restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments, including strip clubs, with most cases in the 20-39 age group,” reads the release.

Strip clubs are not the businesses most guilty of reckless COVID-19 spread, but in terms of where we want to spend our risk budget as a province…

— John Michael McGrath (@jm_mcgrath) September 25, 2020

“Last week our government took immediate action to respond to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, by setting new limits for certain social gatherings and organized public events across Ontario. As the number of cases have continued to rise, it is evident that despite the tremendous efforts of Ontarians further action is required to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott. “On the advice of Ontario’s public health officials, we are moving forward with these measures to help keep Ontarians safe by limiting the potential for exposure in locations where the current risk of transmission is higher, and to avoid future lockdowns. Protecting the health and wellbeing of Ontarians will always remain our top priority.”

So, as of now, there’s nothing going on in the champagne room.