You've heard the news: the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the three city councils and the regional chair had at least one working brain cell in their collective heads, they would enact emergency legislation (either at the civic level or at the provincial one) and lock down Ezra Street, as well as other unsanctioned and illegal street parties. 

This clearly has not happened, and since we can't fix stupid, some drunktards are still going to go to Ezra in the so-called name of freedom of expression to get smashed.

There's no such thing as unfettered freedom of expression. The freedom  to wish harm to someone for example begins with the start of a swinging fist and ends seconds before it connects with someone's face. We are living in a scene right out of the movie "Outbreak" these days, and the Ezra Street Party has always been an accident waiting to happen long before we got to COVID-19. The risk of communal spread will be highest during the street party. I would not be surprised if we see a sudden spike of reported cases of COVID-19 happen after the party. I hope I am wrong, and I will be glad to eat crow if I am, but I have a feeling that hope will not come true.