Inside the backpacker coronavirus cluster which started at a beach party inside Bondi’s trendy Bucket List bar
- Caribbean-themed party at Bondi Beach leaves 20 revellers with coronavirus
- The event took place just hours after PM announced social-distancing measures
- A 27-year-old student who contracted the virus said she lost her sense of smell
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A Caribbean-themed party at Sydney’s Bondi Beach promised the ‘best experience’ and told revellers to expect to be ‘amazed’.
Held at the Bucket List bar, a popular destination for backpackers, the Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana party resulted in 20 cases of coronavirus.
Going ahead on March 15, the event took place just hours after Scott Morrison announced strict new public health measures to combat the deadly virus.
Party-goers dance in front of the DJ booth at the Bucket List bar’s Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana event in Bondi on March 15, 2020
Young people (pictured) pose for the camera at the Bucket List bar’s Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana event in Bondi on March 15, 2020
‘When it comes to social-distancing I want to read to you the key sections of the advice that we’ve provided today to the National Cabinet,’ the Prime Minister said at the time.
‘The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee believes that social-distancing measures are now required and will need to be introduced progressively to reduce disruption.
‘This has the most benefit in delaying transmission.’
Urging people in Australia to keep ‘a metre-and-a-half’ apart and to avoid all non-essential gatherings, Mr Morrison described the new protocols as ‘common sense’.
‘Ensuring that, you refrain from that sort of physical contact, which might be the handshake or even something a bit more intimate unless you’re with your close family and friends,’ Mr Morrison said.
But party-goers who attended the Bucket List event appeared to ignore the warnings, with photos posted on social media showing revellers hugging and kissing one another.
Women (pictured) ignore social-distancing measures at the Bucket List bar’s Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana event in Bondi on March 15, 2020
Revellers (pictured) party the night away at the Bucket List bar’s Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana event in Bondi on March 15, 2020
A 27-year-old French student who contracted COVID-19 at the 12-hour beach-side party told the Sun Herald she did not notice any precautions against coronavirus at the venue.
‘I hesitated to go to the party with my boyfriend, but I felt safe in Australia,’ she said.
Feeling ill in the days after the event, the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she went to get tested for coronavirus after warnings were posted on social media following several confirmed cases.
As well as losing her sense of smell due to the virus, the French student said: ‘I have a headache. I just feel like I need to sleep and I sleep all day. Normally I’m quite active.
‘I have to tell everyone I’m positive.
‘I hope everyone around me will do the test and be in quarantine.’
In response to the incident, the venue immediately shut to undergo ‘deep cleaning’.
‘It’s gruelling to watch our community decimated by the impacts of the COVID-19 virus, including the stand down of our entire team while the government shutdown of restaurants remains in place,’ the owners said.
Young people (pictured) breach social-distancing protocols at the Bucket List bar’s Back to Boogie Wonderland Tropicana event in Bondi on March 15, 2020