Covid-19: in Paris, a life-size experiment, without barrier gesture, risks of contamination in nightclubs – LCI

They remained closed for more than a year and are now at the heart of a scientific experiment. An experiment on the risks of transmission of Covid-19 in an enclosed environment will be carried out this Sunday in a Parisian nightclub, in order to estimate the contaminations after such a mixing of the population. Baptized “Come back at night” and performed at the Machine du Moulin Rouge, this evening was originally scheduled to take place last June. For lack of participants, it was postponed.

Now the places have found takers. Between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m., 2,200 people aged 18 to 49, fully vaccinated against the disease and without a serious risk factor, will participate in the experiment in a normal situation, that is to say in full gauge, without wearing necessarily the mask, and without distancing. Entry will be possible even in the event of a positive test, in order to be able to assess the risk of transmission. The 2,200 other registrants are invited to stay at home, say the organizers.

The challenge is to be able to calculate the number of cases a few days later among the revelers, and compare it to the “control” group. “The hypothesis is that participation in an ‘indoor’ nightclub, unmasked, is not associated with an increased risk of transmission of Sars-Cov-2 in vaccinated participants”, hope the organizers. This full-scale study is carried out in collaboration with the ANRS-Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS / MIE).

If the results are favorable and do not show a greater risk of infection in nightclubs, they could push the authorities to review the health protocol in nightclubs. Currently, these places are limited to 75% of their capacity, while the gauges have been lifted everywhere else with the implementation of the sanitary pass. “This study will provide authorities and professionals with concrete elements based on scientific measures to sustain the opening of discotheques in the best conditions”, assure the organizers. The results of this study will be available at the end of the year, the ANRS / MIE assured in June.