A huge crowd gathered on Mount Royal over the weekend for an Occupy the Hood demonstration. Flouting health and safety recommendations, many of the participants were photographed without face coverings and not maintaining the required two metres of distance from other attendees. Now organizers are asking everyone who went to get tested.
On Instagram, Occupy the Hood explains that it "[funds] non-profit organizations of our community through fundraising & peaceful demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality in Canada."
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Its "rules of conduct," outlined in a July 29 post, state that masks are mandatory.
For the party on Sunday, August 16, featuring some top DJs like Kaytranada, several hundred people gathered to enjoy the music.
While the government has spread the message that public gatherings and small-scale festivals of up to 250 people are allowed, social distancing is still a requirement and public health officials strongly recommend wearing a face covering when distancing is difficult.
MTL Blog reached out to Occupy the Hood regarding the situation but hasn't yet received a response. This article will be updated if we do.
Twitter users reacted to the news and expressed their disappointment at the lack of social distancing. Others encouraged attendees to take precautions.*
DJ Gayance, a participating artist at the event, has asked everyone who attended to stay home and get tested.
MTL Blog reached out to three of the participating DJs for comment and will update this article when they reply.
Photos and videos shared with MTL Blog by attendee Ranjit Oberoi (vegan__as__fvck on Instagram) show the size of the crowd.
On Wednesday morning, Occupy the Hood posted an Instagram story asking everyone who attended to "be responsible and go get tested."
The Government of Quebec writes on its website that public event organizers "should take measures to inform participants that they should maintain such a distance from any other person or gathered households."
Editor's Note: A video associated with this story was removed for not meeting MTL Blog's Editorial Standards.
