Sunday Herald Sun reporters visited nightclubs and bars in Melbourne and across Victoria last week and found little evidence of social distancing.Clubs have also proudly posted photos on their social media pages, showing maskless young people surrounding DJs, packing dancefloors and hugging.It comes as masks remain mandatory in Victorian supermarkets and shopping centres and are “strongly recommended” in public places if social distancing is not possible.The nightclub free-for-all also comes as children are told not to high-five at junior footy games for health reasons, only one parent should watch and spectators should observe social distancing.And Victorian restaurants are restricted on how many diners they can have, spacing out tables to meet government requirements.The AFL is also bracing for reduced crowd capacity at its games this year, with fans expected to have to sit in dedicated seats.Under government rules, nightclubs can now open but there is a density limit of one person per 4sq m on dancefloors, up to a maximum of 50 people. A limit of one per 2sq m applies elsewhere in clubs.Masks are not required, but the government website states: “It is strongly recommended you wear a fitted face mask when you cannot keep 1.5m from others except while eating or drinking.”While the Sunday Herald Sun observed some Melbourne nightclubs scanning QR codes on entry and operating on a one-in and one-out basis once at capacity, inside the venues the scenes resembled pre-pandemic nightlife. With not a lot of room to move, let alone sit, popular Russell St venue Heartbreaker had people crowding the bar for drinks.At Brown Alley, part of the Colonial Hotel and one of Melbourne’s largest and most popular clubs, the dancefloor was packed and pumping. And people were lined up down the street for entry to Fitzroy club Yah Yahs, with many waiting two hours to get in.Inside Geelong’s Bloom nightclub, punters said it “looked exactly the same as pre-COVID”. “Nothing was different,” one said.Photos posted to social media by Geelong’s Home House nightclub and by popular late-night venue Lambys Tavern showed jam-packed bars and dancefloors and no evidence of masks or social distancing.At The Deck in Ballarat on Wednesday night, scenes were reportedly also the same as pre-COVID, as university students kicked off the start of the tertiary year with O-Week celebrations.“There was nothing different to the way it used to be, it’s just back to normal,” one uni student said.And in Mildura nightclub The Setts, signs encouraging 1.5m social distancing were being blatantly ignored, with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar and dancing close to others.But while Setts enforced QR code scanning, a number of other regional clubs did not scan codes or take contact details of patrons on entry, according to patrons.Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, speaking on behalf of the state government, said businesses in breach of COVIDSafe rules could be fined up to $10,000.“That’s not an insignificant amount of money,” she said.“What’s important is that if any Victorian believes there have been breaches of COVID-safe requirements in these types of venues that we ask them to contact police.“We’ll take all the necessary actions to ensure that they comply.“ We understand that people want to get out there to party and catch up with people and friends, and have a good time.“Melbourn is a fantastic place in this country, it’s the best fun in the country when it comes to our nightlife.“But we need to make sure that we do that in a COVID-safe way so that we can actually remain open.”Ms D’Ambrosio said any breaches of restrictions were a concern.“But I don’t believe that they are widespread,” she said. “What is important is that we remain vigilant.”A Department of Health spokesman warned: “This virus can spread quickly and easily, and now is not the time to be complacent. We urge people to gather and celebrate in a COVID-safe way,” he said.Authorised officers were still doing spot compliance checks and clubs found flouting COVID rules risked fines of up to $10,000. mandy.squires@news.com.au
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