The New South Wales Ministry of Health has declared all attendees of a Taylor Swift album listening party as close contacts. The public health service had been notified of 97 new COVID-19 cases linked to the On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party in Sydney on December 10th.
“Anyone who attended the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Metro Theatre (624 George Street, Sydney) from 9pm onwards on Friday 10 December is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 7 days. It is likely some of these cases have the Omicron variant of concern.”
“NSW Health is urgently contacting 600 people who attended Metro Theatre at this time and checked in via the QR code and is directing them and members of their households to immediately get tested and follow public health advice,” NSW Health's press release states.
According to reports, the pop star was not in attendance at the event which saw hundreds of fans gather in celebration of the singer's Red (Taylor's Version). New South Wales Health Department has also tagged Metro Theatre in Sydney as a “new venue of concern” following the incident.
Australia has implemented some rather strict COVID-19 regulations, such as penalties for non-compliance with the isolation, testing and quarantine requirements. Non-compliance will see individuals receive fines ranging from $5,000, with corporations receiving fines from $10,000.
According to data from John Hopkins University, Australia has reported 264,447 COVID-19 cases in the past 28 days, and currently has 41,460,631 residents fully vaccinated.
Taylor Swift dropped her much-anticipated album, Red last month, which is a new spin to her old record. The re-recorded version of her fourth studio album includes songs “from the vault”, a 10-minute-long version of All Too Well, and also features all 30 songs that were originally meant to go on her fourth studio album.
