It’s correct that the government have not mandated anything.   We believe that a salsa club where people have repeated physical contact with people outside their household is a setting where it is worth including some additional precautions, at least in the short term.

We understand that some may be anxious about dancing with those who have not been vaccinated but please bear in mind that some people are unable to be vaccinated, some choose not to (as is their choice) and some have not had the opportunity to get both their jabs yet.  A room full of vaccinated but untested dancers could still transmit the infection so we feel that the safest approach is to ask everyone to test themselves.  If you have been vaccinated and you take a test you can be safe in the knowledge that the chances of you unknowingly spreading the infection to someone else are minimal.  You have done the best you can for our dance community and we thank you for it.

We understand and have empathy for people who are anxious about testing in the same way we have empathy for people feeling anxious about being around people who are not vaccinated or tested.  We have made the decision for the reasons outlined earlier but will remove the requirement as soon as we can.  We would rather start cautiously and remove requirements when everyone feels safer.  

You are right. Tests are not 100% accurate, vaccination does not offer 100% protection and our bodies’ immune systems are not 100% effective.  We cannot eliminate the risk but we can mitigate against some of the risk as best we can.  The lateral flow test is the best available tool for this.

You don’t have to.  There are many other venues where a negative test is not an entry requirement.  For many of us, if a loved one asked us to take a test before contact with us because they were anxious we would willing do so.  We just see this is an extension of that care to our dance family and community.   We understand and accept that others do not feel the same way.