Gay sauna testing temperatures in a bid to control coronavirus, refusing entry to guys who’re ‘too hot’
A gay sauna in Sydney, Australia has begun testing men’s temperatures before they enter, in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Announcing the measures on Facebook, 357 Sydney City Steam jokingly boasts that they are now the first sauna in Australia “to not allow you entry if you’re too hot”.
If anyone refuses to have their temperature taken they won’t be allowed entry, although the club’s owner says everyone has been happy to comply so far.
“At 357 we want you to feel safe,” the post reads. “So every client will have a non-touch ‘gun thermometer’ test to make sure you have no fever before entering our venue.
“It takes one second on entry. So play safe and with confidence. We care about you at your venue 357. We have done all we can do to ensure your safety and cruise with confidence so we look after each other.”
The club says it will frequently disinfect all areas and place hand sanitisers in all key locations. Posters around the sauna also ask customers to keep hands clean, cover coughs and sneezes and stay away while sick.
The sauna‘s announcement was met with praise from their loyal customers, but the measures may be redundant, as experts say that people with coronavirus may be most infectious when they first catch the virus and don’t have symptoms.
As of 1pm on 16 March, Australia has had 298 cases of COVID-19 and five deaths.
The government has responded to the pandemic by surveilling borders, screening all travellers and applying travel restrictions to reduce visitors from high-risk countries.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has not yet ordered the closure of schools or businesses, despite the opposition’s desperate calls to do so.
However, on Monday Australia issued a ban on non-essential mass gatherings of 500 people or more. This has had an obvious impact on many sporting events, including the AFL season which has been cut from 23 rounds to 17.
