Health officials warn of potential virus exposure at Ivy Lounge

Health officials warned Thursday about potential exposure to COVID-19 at another nightclub in Downtown Vancouver.

The Ivy Lounge in the Trump Tower was added to Vancouver Coastal Health’s growing list of public exposures. VCH warned of possible exposure at the nightspot on West Georgia Street on Aug. 7 between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

The notice comes as another Downtown Vancouver nightclub — Levels on Seymour Street — plans to reopen after a warning earlier this week about potential COVID-19 exposure at the club last week.

Nightclubs aren’t allowed to open as dance venues, but can operate as restaurants under B.C.’s restart plan, with only six patrons allowed per table.

B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said the majority of the new cases are young people in the Lower Mainland whose exposures have been linked to community events and out-ofprovince travel over the B.C. Day long weekend.

Nightclubs in B.C. were shut in March because of the COVID-19 state of emergency, but many reopened in May and June, operating as restaurants to stay in business. Celebrities Nightclub, for example, opened and then closed again in July because of a spike in cases in Kelowna.