Post-pandemic nightclub experience in China gives a glimpse of the future

At 44KW, a club for electronic music lovers in the financial hub of Shanghai, customers sat, danced and mingled with little sign of social distancing on the weekend

The club checks the temperature of every customer and gets them to register their details. Staff, including bouncers, bartenders and waiters wear masks and gloves all the time. Customers don't have to wear masks but many do

Some glasses have been replaced with plastic cups and the club has installed hand sanitizer dispensers throughout. Door handles and toilets are disinfected every hour while the entire club is disinfected every day before and after opening

Clubs have been at the centre of coronavirus flare-ups in other Asian cities. A cluster of cases linked to clubs emerged in South Korea this month, triggering fears of a second wave of infections and leading to clubs and bars being shut again

China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, has seen a sharp fall in cases since March