Kingston Had So Many Parties This Weekend It's Being Called An "Outbreak Incubator"

It looks like things got a little out of hand this weekend. Kingston was reportedly overrun with large gatherings of Queen’s University students. Now, one professor is begging them to stop. 

Over the long weekend, it seems that students weren't taking Doug Ford's advice to stay at home. 

The Kingstonist reported that police received over 89 noise complaints in the city’s University District.

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The number doesn’t even include all the calls to assist citizens or disturbances in the area.

The epidemic of parties has grown so bad that Jeff Masuda, a Queen’s University professor, felt compelled to write an open letter to the institution’s dean and vice-principal.

In the letter, Masuda addressed several issues, including a lack of police action and selfishness from students.

“In the past week, students have descended en masse to the city. They have shut down our beach, and they have treated our neighbourhood like a giant outdoor bar," Masuda wrote in his letter.

"They have, epidemiologically speaking, turned the entire University district into some kind of pandemic outbreak incubator. None of this had to happen.”

According to the Masuda, there were around 100 students that had gathered on his block over the weekend. 

"I encountered several ‘pods’ of students – perhaps two or three dozen on the block, who were sitting on the sidewalk, throwing beer cans.” 

The professor of Kinesiology and Health Studies went on to explain the disastrous effects the “student pods” could be having on the province’s case numbers.

“The multiplier effect is hard to fathom, as will be contact tracing. In short, this collective behaviour of Queen’s students has been the perfect antithesis of public health messaging,” he said.

Earlier this week, Kingston Police told Narcity that they would be patrolling areas during popular university celebration weeks in an attempt to curb the number of parties that were taking place. 

Premier Doug Ford addressed university students directly during a press conference on Tuesday.

The Ontario leader pleaded with young people not to attend large gatherings or parties to prevent community spread.

Ford later doubled down on the issue asking for residents to report their neighbours if they see them hosting large gatherings.