New York State Updates Concert Guidelines for April
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has updated the guidelines for allowing live events to return, specifying that outdoor venues with a capacity of 2,500 or more can operate at 20% capacity beginning on April 1. Indoor venues with a capacity of 1,500 or more will be able to open at 10% capacity.
Previous guidelines, announced in February, indicated that venues with a capacity of 10,000 — indoor or outdoor — could operate at 10% of capacity, with attendees required to present a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior to the event to gain admittance. Temperature checks will be performed on entry, masks will be required, and social distancing will be enforced. Cuomo said yesterday that those requirement will be re-evaluated in mid-May, according to Rochester First.
Smaller venues will be subject to a different set of restrictions announced earlier in March that start on April 2. Such spaces will be allowed to open at 33% capacity with a limit of 100 people indoors (or 200 people outdoors). If venues can verify that all attendees have tested negative for Covid-19 before entering, those limits would be increased to 150 people indoors or 500 people outdoors. The same safety regulations apply.
Some states, such as Texas and Mississippi, have lifted all restrictions, allowing events to take place at 100% capacity with no safety restrictions.
Cuomo added that the venue capacity percentages will increase as Covid rates go down, saying:
“I think you’re going to see the capacity increase and the testing requirements decrease as we get more evidence, but we want to start safe and smart.
“I’m very excited about the news today. It has been a long dark winter. It’s been a long dark year, it’s been the darkest experience we’ve gone through in generations. Let’s be honest, you’d have to go back to World War II to have an experience of this magnitude, and this death, and its been difficult in a lot of levels.”
The announcement comes as New York State has one of the worst Covid rates in the U.S., experiencing only a modest drop in recent months as most parts of the U.S. have seen a steep decline.
[via Metal Injection]
