COVID responses

As an activity that typically requires prolonged physical contact with strangers, there is COVID risk at any club. Clubs are addressing the risk in several ways.

Most clubs require some type of initial screening with temperature checks and taking information for contact tracing. It’s not clear how effective these measures are. Do they make everyone feel safer? Is that worth it?

In some clubs, the dancers wear masks or face shields. So do the customers. It is required for everyone. The customers may not care — maybe they’re not attracted to faces(?) — but something surely is missing without facial expressions.

Some clubs have enforced a four foot parameter around all dances, even in VIP, as part of their ethical and legal concerns about protecting employees and customers. But dancers are not required to disclose these rules. This has led some patrons to report the “COVID hustle” where a customer agrees to drop $250 in VIP and only then discovers that the dance will take place at a distance.

What other measures are in place?