Every day, I get a question from someone worried that Ezra Ave will be ground zero for a Waterloo COVID-19 outbreak. Why, they ask in exasperation, hasn’t the City cancelled this event??

The short answer is: we have been trying to shut this thing down for years. It’s not a City event. It’s not even a legal event. The street gathering is unsanctioned, which means unlawful.

The students don’t even run it. It has no official organizer, so there is no-one to contact and instruct them to cancel it. And each year, people keep turning up regardless, from across the Region and around the province.

The City works with partners to contain the gathering, and a special task force just delivered a report to Council with a plan to curtail, and ultimately end, these street gatherings.

What does that mean for this year? The only way to stop this event is if students don’t come.

If you are a student: Don’t attend! Apart from the myriad other problems and issues that stem from this unlawful event, it’s a germ factory at the best of times. A COVID-19 pandemic is not the best of times.

If you are a parent of a high school or university student: Discourage your child’s attendance. Talk about the risk — and the fact they’ll be spreading that risk to whomever they talk to or deal with in the coming weeks. (Also, please remind them it’s not actually legal.)

if you know someone from out of town who’s planning to come, tell them to cancel their plans. It’s just not worth it.

[Side note: If you have concerns or queries about COVID-19, please visit the Waterloo Region Public Health website.]