While most performers have had to shelve public performances during the coronavirus, musician Trey Songz performed at a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.
According to Trey Songz’s social media accounts, he performed at the Aftermath Nightclub on Saturday.
While in normal times, the concert wouldn’t be newsworthy, the performance prompted Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein to order the nightclub temporarily closed, claiming the concert violated state COVID-19 requirements. He issued a restraining order against the club on Tuesday. Klein says the order will be effective until the case goes before a court, which he says could come on December 17.
Ohio currently requires people in public indoor spaces to wear masks unless they’re actively eating or drinking. Klein said that the nightclub disregarded the mandate, based on an investigation by the Ohio Investigative Unit. His office estimates that 500 people were attendance at the concert.
“Last weekend’s indoor concert at Aftermath was in blatant disregard of COVID-19 health orders and social distancing best practices,” said Klein. “We are in the middle of a surge in coronavirus infections, yet the owners of Aftermath planned to continue hosting large-scale events at their venue, including this upcoming weekend. In the interest of community health, we secured an immediate shutdown of this property.”
Videos shared on Instagram from attendees of the performance showed hundreds of people congregated around the stage standing shoulder to shoulder, with few people wearing masks.
In October, Songz posted on Instagram that he had tested positive for the virus.
"I will be taking it seriously," Songz said. "I've always taken it serious. If you come in contact with COVID, please do the same. Please do the same."
Ohio set its one-day record for coronavirus cases with more than 25,000 reported on Tuesday, but officials said that 13,000 of those cases were due to a backlog in reporting.
