MAFS stars ignore 'social distancing' advice amid coronavirus

Major events around the country are being cancelled, employees are being asked to work from home if possible, and the Prime Minister has advised against non-essential gatherings of 500+ people, all to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

And yet, Married at First Sight stars appear to have ignored the ‘social distancing’ advice from health officials, as they were seen mingling with crowds and shaking hands during an appearance at a Melbourne club on Saturday night.

MAFS grooms Mikey Pembroke, Ivan Sarakula, David Cannon, Jonethen Musulin and Steve Burley got together for a personal appearance, with videos shared to social media showing them taking to the stage at nightclub Billboard Saturdays.

Billboard is advertised as one of the larger clubs in the Victorian capital, and has a capacity of 1000 people, according to residentadvisor.net.

The clips, mostly shared to Mikey’s Instagram stories, show the departed groom crawling on the stage floor before he can be heard announcing he will be doing the ‘moonwalk’.

Steve can be seen shaking hands with people in the front row, while Ivan is filming them both.

Mikey confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle the group had been invited to a Johnny Walker event. Asked whether he was concerned about the risk of coronavirus he replied, “Nah, was on the stage.”

Also in a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, Billboard confirmed extra precautions were taken for the event on Saturday night, including temperature checks of patrons and extra hand sanitiser around the venue.

“No patron was rejected entry due to excessive temperature,” a spokesperson said. “All patrons happily obliged to a non contact thermal temperature check, most displaying a calming expression of comfort.”

Earlier clips on Mikey’s account show him mingling with more people at a bar, wishing some a Happy Birthday, and encouraging a few to do shots.

Fellow groom David Cannon, who is also no longer on the Channel Nine show, shared a few clips to his own Instagram account, showing the grooms enjoying some drinks together before heading out for the evening’s events.

He even hit back at a few fans who commented on the videos, sharing their confusion at the appearance.

“Haha all you haters yet if you were in the same position, you'd do the same!! Few free beers with mates never goes astray,” he wrote in a comment on the MAFS Funny post.

The reality stars’ appearance comes a day after organisers were forced to cancel the Sydney Royal Easter Show for the first time in almost a century.

Vivid Sydney has now also officially been cancelled, with major sporting events and festivals also impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

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