An app which sought to help people arrange and find parties amid the novel coronavirus pandemic has been removed from the Apple app store and TikTok.
Apple confirmed to Global News on Wednesday that the application, called Vybe Together, has been removed from its store.
Vybe Together reacted to the news on Instagram.
“App Store took us down!!! We will be back!!” the page, which had nearly 900 followers Wednesday evening reads. “Follow to stay updated.”
The app marketed itself as a way for people to arrange parties and gatherings.
“Miss playing beer pong, flirting with strangers, and generally just having a blast with the crew?” an archived version of the app’s now deleted website reads. “Vybe is here for you.”
In an email, a spokesperson for TikTok said the app’s account was removed for violating its community guidelines, adding that it was not advertising on the platform.
The account had 139 followers, and had posted three videos on TikTok before it was deleted.
Global News also reached out to Google to determine if the app had made it onto its store, but did not hear back by time of publication.
Alexander Dimcevski, the reported co-founder of the app, told Business Insider that the app had not thrown any large parties.
He told the outlet that the TikTok video — which has now been deleted — was just an “over-the-top marketing video.”
Dimcevski told Business Insider they “do not condone large unsafe parties during a pandemic.”
By Wednesday evening, Dimcevski’s LinkedIn account had been deleted.
According to The Verge, which first reported on the app, a FAQ page which has since been deleted said Vybe Together supported small gatherings, but not large ones, and acknowledged that COVID-19 is a “major health problem.”
Meanwhile, health officials in Canada have urged Canadians to limit their number of contacts, and to refrain from hosting or attending gatherings in order to stem the spread of the virus.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam urged Canadians to continue following public health measures to slow the spread of the virus.
She said this means we must celebrate New Year’s Eve “differently and resolve to carry on with effective public health practices in the #New Year.”
On Wednesday, Canada reported a record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases, adding 7,471 new infections.
To date, the country has seen 572,525 cases of COVID-19 and 15,472 deaths associated with the virus.
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