Tartu agrees to principles of goodwill with nightlife venues

Seeking to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Tartu city government and the city's major night clubs have agreed on principles of goodwill.
The clubs pledged to carefully observe the rule of patron dispersion, for which more staff will be deployed where necessary. Visitors will also have their temperature taken to ensure they are in good health. The clubs also promised to continuously make sure that alcohol is not sold to intoxicated people.
Tartu Deputy Mayor Mihkel Lees said that the same principles were agreed upon with Maasikas, Vabank, Shooters and Level nightclubs and the Naiiv culture club, all of which promised to take the public health situation extremely seriously and do their best to prevent further spread of the virus.
He added that good cooperation with entertainment facilities gives reason to hope that the virus spread can be contained in Tartu.
Lees said: "It is not our intention to kill off nightlife in Tartu -- it is very important that people's health be protected and that entrepreneurship, too, should survive."
The clubs who joined the pledge will only allow up to 200 people in their facilities at a time over the coming two weeks.
Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klaas said the coronavirus outbreak in Tartu is associated with several entertainment facilities.
Klaas explained: "For that reason, we deemed it the right call to agree upon a set of rules to contribute to resolving the situation. A joint effort and responsible behavior is required for that purpose from both nightclub managers and patrons."
A recent outbreak of the coronavirus in Tartu has led the city to look for measures to alleviate the spread of COVID-19. A crisis council met in Tartu on August 3 to discuss the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the city with three proposals being made to government, one of which being the re-establishment of the 2+2 rule.
The proposals also include limiting capacity in night clubs, hookah cafes and similar entertainment establishments to 100. A strong recommendation to wear masks when indoors was also brought up.
The outbreak is largely attributed to a person who visited many public spaces in Tartu while displaying symptoms, most notably a party at Vabank night club, which has directly led to at least 33 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed, as of Wednesday. Another party at Naiiv culture club has led to 15 cases.
--
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Kristjan Kallaste