Scene practices for the Corona autumn
Dancing only with PCR test: Berlin club goers are here for a pilot project
Queuing for the party: already in the early evening a long queue forms in front of the “Kitkat”
© Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Because of the coronavirus, the dance floors of the Berlin clubs were swept away. An end to the pandemic is still not in sight. With a pilot project, however, a way through the night should be shown.
In front of the”Metropol” club in Berlin’s trendy district of Schöneberg, both excitement and anticipation can be felt on this Friday evening. On the one hand, there are the 300 PCR-tested party-goers who are looking forward to their first night in a dance club since the beginning of the corona pandemic. And there are the politicians and the club operators, who are looking forward to this weekend. With the three-day pilot project “Reboot Clubculture”, new perspectives are to be shown to the internationally acclaimed Berlin club scene after 18 months in Corona-Aus.
At the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, clubs were among the places to which larger corona outbreaks could be attributed-the so – called superspreading events. One of them occurred at the end of February 2020 not far from the “Metropol”, in the “Trumpet”.
Celebrating despite Corona: Several clubs involved in pilot project
In the club life of that time, some factors could come together, which are probably considered ideal conditions for a virus that spreads even over the finest, longer time floating in the air droplets. There would be, for example, a large number of revelers who mingle for hours. In addition, dancing close to each other, with sometimes stuffy air. Because of the music, you have to speak loudly or shout at each other, sometimes people sing along loudly – this releases more aerosols than silent activities.
First testing, then celebrating: a clubgoer undergoes a PCR express test for Covid-19 before the “KiKat” in Berlin
© Sean Gallup / Getty Images
The aim of the pilot project is to find out how and whether it is safe to dance indoors in a pandemic – dancing outdoors has been permitted again since the end of June in compliance with hygiene rules. In addition to the “Metropol”, five other clubs are participating in the project, such as “Kitkat”, “SO36” or “Festsaal Kreuzberg”. In the two nights between Friday and Sunday, they offer events with around 40 artists from the scene. The 25 euro tickets were sold out in a few minutes.
Club goers must take PCR test before entering
The following rules apply to a total of 2,000 club-goers: All of them must take a PCR test a few hours before entering three specially set-up test centres. Admission is only with a negative result. It should not be distinguished whether people are already vaccinated. But it does not need a mask and spacings.
Part of the pilot project is also a second PCR test one week after the event. In order for as many people as possible to come to the test, advertising was mainly done in Berlin. Anyone who can be tested a second time will receive ten euros of the ticket price back. Florian Kainzinger from Think is hoping for the second tests.Health Hygiene Solutions to a stake of 70 to 80 percent in order to be able to draw conclusions for further steps.
Berlin Senate supports pilot project of the club scene
At the “Metropol” on Friday evening there is great anticipation. At the entrance, partygoers take off the masks relieved. One man hugs his companion, another prances into the club. “I feel like I’m having the first party today,” says organizer Bork Melms.
Only those who undergo a PCR test are allowed to enter the club. Part of the pilot project is also a second PCR test one week after the event. Whoever does this will be reimbursed ten euros of the ticket price.
© Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Berlin’s Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer (Die Linke) will also be at the start. The Senate supports the pilot project. Lederer is optimistic:” I believe that we have pulled in all the security lines that could be pulled in here, “says the politician in front of the”Metropol”. Lutz Leichsenring from the Club Commission, an association of club operators, says: “The next few days are very crucial for the club scene.”
Ticket suspensions due to positive PCR tests
At the” Kitkat”, where one of the three PCR test centers set up especially for the project is located, a long queue forms already in the early evening. According to Florian Kainzinger, over 2000 PCR tests were carried out on Friday. “So far, several positive participants have been identified and tickets have been blocked,” says Kainzinger.
The number of infections is on the rise again in Germany and also in Berlin, with the highest values among adolescents and young adults. These are age groups in which the proportion of vaccinated people is lower compared to seniors, but they also have a lower risk of becoming seriously ill.
So will PCR tests soon be a prerequisite for clubbing in addition to the right outfit? “We hope that it is not the future,” says Pamela Schobeß of the club commission with regard to the elaborate procedure. “But it would be a possibility for the fall.”
