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Scott and I went out in search of a patio last night where we could socially distance and meet a new friend I found on Twitter. The Byward Market was out. It's always a carwash and I had no expectation that it would be any different on a warm and beautiful Friday night in Ottawa even in a pandemic.
I suggested we find a place near my new friend's home which is close to the hotels in the northwest area of downtown. She made a reservation at the Baton Rouge on Albert Street. When she called they said it was good she made a reservation; they were turning away walk-in traffic. That sounded responsible, so we climbed in the Subaru and headed down.
Scott turned onto Bank Street from Sunnyside and we were pleasantly surprised to see the Barley Mow, one of our old haunts, was full but not packed. They had added some tables in the parking lot and it seemed very safe. I know that about the Mow. They have always done a good job of keeping the place in good order, and I thought that would be a good place to go another time.
But everything changed after we drove over the Bank Street Bridge. The entire strip from TD Place to Laurier was jam packed with thirsty revellers. Some places, like the Clock Tower, were the exception; it only had a few tables and no lineup.
But Holy Mother of COVID, the rest of the strip had people literally spilling into the street waiting in line to get in. There were some places that were just holes in the wall and somehow they managed to stuff folks in using old smoking section techniques like letting people sit inside in the windows.
I'm not blaming the bar and restaurants. I am sure they opened safely. But it was the outside crowds that worried me, people standing in line for hours, not socially distancing, not wearing masks. Tit to bum.
What worries me from a public health perspective is that this kind of behaviour is going to lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases. It's exactly why all the festivals have been cancelled because you can put as many rules up as you want, but you can't stop bad human behaviour especially when people are in search of booze and company.
I'm not so worried about the inside of bars and restaurants; I'm worried about the outside.
The whole scene reminded me of the Walking Dead. If we've learned anything from the George Romero-inspired zombie series, it's that people will do what ever they want if nobody's looking. Human beings aren't that different from Labrador retrievers in that way.
As we drove downtown, I was grateful to see that the crowd had dissipated, and we parked our car across the road from the Baton Rouge, and got our table. We had to sit in the sun and wind because the nice table behind us was off limits due to social distance rules.
There was no lineup, and people were well behaved.
Most of the people at the restaurant patio were over 40.
We had a couple of beers, and left.
I didn't pee. I almost peed my pants on the short drive home.
I'd heard one of the worst place to get the virus is in public restrooms.
I believe it.
People can be pigs.
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