(Photo Credits: MichaelJanich at the English language Wikipedia / CC BY-SA)
The world’s largest nudist resort called Cap d’Agde Naturist Village has recently emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot in France after at least 145 visitors have tested positive for coronavirus.
Occitanie Regional Health Authorities conducted three days of testing at the LGBT-friendly French nudist resort last week. Results showed that of the 490 people tested, 95 visitors currently staying at Cap d’Agde have tested positive for coronavirus. A total of 50 visitors on the other hand, were also found to be infected with COVID-19 after returning to their respective homes. Authorities said results are still pending for 310 more people.
Pierre Ricordeau, director general of Agence Régionale de Santé Occitanie (ARS), said in an interview that the visitors of Cap d’Agde probably did not observe proper social distancing.
“There are infections everywhere, including among people who are not libertines.” Ricordeau added, “The message is the same for everyone: wear a mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing, whether you are a libertine or not a libertine.”
Apart from the aforementioned reminders, gatherings of more than 10 people had also been prohibited, exemptions on nightclub opening hours had been withdrawn, and people were asked to delay their travel plans to Cap d’Agde.
Cap d’Agde Naturist Village, also known as the “Nudist City” or “Naked City,” is famous because it is the “world’s largest resort to follow the ‘clothing optional’ guidelines.” According to WION, Cap d’Agde “attracts nearly 40,000 people on any given day” because of its popularity and location on the Nudist Beach.
This travel website said that at least 10 to 20 percent of the resort’s visitors are gay naturists which translate to “at least 3,500 gay vacationers every day in July and August,” says LGBTQ Nation.
The aforementioned travel website—which also cited Le Look Bar, Club Le Palme Re, and Tantra Club Libertine as gay-friendly nightspots—said of Cap d’Agde:
<blockquote>It can be argued that Cap d’Agde is one of the best gay travel destinations in that this is a resort that embraces all travelers. The beauty of the resort is that people of all interests visit this resort and you are very unlikely to see any issues here. Everyone tends to be accepted and is very accepting. It is the essence of what Cap d’Agde resort is about.</blockquote>
According to The Irish Times, Cap d’Agde “advertises itself as a village for naturists and libertines.” It’s a place where visitors can go to the restaurants, banks, stores, and post offices stark naked, not just on the beach.
Having said all that, France‘s total number of COVID-19 cases is 253,587 as of this writing. Do we have any users from France reading our blog? Bonjour à tous!
Oh snap
Sound more like a colony of Bonobos. I’d worry more about STDs then Covid. Still waiting for all the bodies in the streets. Or les rues, en Francais. More scare mongering horse hockey
“The message is the same for everyone: wear a mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing, …” And stay away from public places frequented by large numbers of people.
This is not an unexpected revelation…!
Hedonism encourages multiple contacts and multiple contacts prosper the spread of any virus…including Covid-19.
The French are not going to close “Cap d’Agde” because of its “Claim-To-Fame” and its monetary contributions to its location.
The practice of Nudism is the freedom of “no clothes” not sexual freedom and in fact, any reputable nudist colony discourages sex amongst its members.
Thus, much-ado-about-nothing because nothing sufficient is going to be done about rendering in its contributions to the spread of Covid-19.
Do nudist wear masks?
When you want facts that might impact your life and health, it’s probably a good idea to get actual data from epidemiologists or health professionals, not government or news media. There are positive tests, but what does this mean? About 97% of people who are not over 70 with medical illnesses recover fully from a positive test. The death risk for people less than 50 years old is around 0.4%, which means these “cases” won’t make you sick unless you are in a high risk group. Some even say the spreading of virus amongst people who won’t get sick will… Read more »