Scores of revellers poured on the streets of Siberia's largest city Novosibirsk at the weekend to let off some steam during the coronavirus pandemic – but the flash dance party did not go unnoticed by local media and the police.
The city of 1.6 million has restricted large gatherings as part of measures to combat Covid-19, but that didn’t stop an estimated (by media) 300 people from rocking out on Saturday night.
In a video of the unsanctioned event, a crowd of largely young people is seen dancing and mingling with one another, as music pounds in the background. Judging by the photographic evidence, conga lines and other activities that don’t mesh particularly well with social distancing rules dominated the evening.
The festivities were later visited by cops, who were called to the scene. They urged people to adhere to safety measures and broke up the party, launching an investigation into the 'lockdown break.'
Dismissing the media reports, police say that only around 60 individuals were in attendance, pointing out that some of the video footage posted online was a montage made up of several unrelated events.
Novosibirsk Oblast (province) has recorded more than 2,000 cases of Covid-19, resulting in 29 deaths. The region remains on high-alert status with authorities banning large gatherings and imposing a mask-wearing regime and other measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
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