Bhangra-dancing Canadian goes viral after celebrating on frozen lake after Covid vaccine

Gurdeep Pandher celebrated getting his Covid-19 vaccine by dancing on frozen lake

A Canadian dancer went viral for the uplifting video that showed him celebrating getting his coronavirus vaccine by Bhangra dancing on a frozen lake.

Gurdeep Pandher, from Yukon, shared his delight in receiving the vaccine and received praise for spreading joy through the traditional dance from the Punjab region.

“Yesterday, I received my Covid-19 vaccine,” he said in the caption on the YouTube video.

“Then I went to a frozen lake to dance Bhangra on it for joy, hope and positivity, which I’m forwarding across Canada and beyond for everyone’s health and wellbeing.”

Mr Pandher has been sharing videos of himself dancing around the frozen Yukon throughout the pandemic, in an attempt to spread hope and happiness.

Mr Pandher told the PA news agency that the vaccine went “wonderfully” and he “did not even feel it.”

“Even after the vaccine, I felt okay,” he said.

Mr Pandher has lived in Yukon, the first capital in Canada to offer vaccines to everyone aged 18 and older, for a decade.

He told PA: "You know sometimes we see in social media, or other platforms, people are concerned about the vaccine. but I did not feel anything like that. And then I went to a frozen lake in the Yukon to dance Bhangra.

"It was an awesome experience, just to celebrate it and share the joy with the world."

In January, a couple was found to have posed as motel workers in a remote village in Yukon in order to get an early vaccine dose.

The sparsely populated territory, which is home to many indigenous people, had a faster vaccination rate than in the rest of Canada.

Rod Baker, 55, and his wife Ekaterina, 32 were given a fine of $1,150 (£660) for failing to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival in Yukon.

“We are deeply concerned by the actions of individuals who put our Elders and vulnerable people at risk to jump the line for selfish purposes,” White River First Nation Chief Angela Demit, leader of the local indigenous nation, wrote on Facebook at the time.”

With additional reporting from PA