'Hallelujah': Islanders let loose to celebrate St. Patrick's Day
CBC
Revelers were wearing green, drinking beer and singing along to Irish music on Thursday as bars and pubs celebrated St. Patrick's Day for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago.
It coincided with the beginning of Step 2 of the province's COVID transition plan. It allows people to dance at bars, and increases capacity to 75 per cent, with no restrictions on table sizes.
Kent MacPhee, co-owner of the Olde Dublin Pub, said people were so excited they were lining up to get in as early as 6:45 a.m.
But he said while everyone is having fun, health and safety are still a priority.
"As much as we're having excitement, we're still, you know, still on guard, if you will, to make sure that if you are on the dance floor, that you're masked and stuff like that," he said.
"But people are saying kind of like hallelujah, really."
