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Thursday, February 10, 2022
Broadway's mask and vaccination requirement remains through April 30
Broadway News: Broadway theaters will still require audience members to wear masks and show proof of vaccination for entry, the Broadway League confirmed Wednesday.
4 comments:
Brynn Sklar
said...
As someone who made it through almost two years of the pandemic without getting COVID-19, and even after catching it, I still firmly believe that the masks and proof of vaccination are immensely important. Although I am excited about the return of live theater, I am still weary of closely packed audiences. Even something as simple as these mandates and bubble seating are useful to ease tensions. The New York governor deciding to lift the mandate overall was not the smartest decision in my opinion as people are still regularly getting sick. With that city being such a superspreader overall I am not sure that these Broadway shows are safe. Personally, I would not take my chances sitting in the house with that many strangers at this point but I guess we will see how this turns out. I just hope that if it ends up being the wrong move, not too many people become fatally ill.
This article makes me very hopeful that Broadway will have a better chance of reopening sooner, considering they follow through with this mask mandate. I do wish; however, that more places, such as private businesses would require proof of vaccination and mask mandates. I come from Huntsville, Alabama, and it is so uncommon for anywhere to require masks, let alone dare ask for proof of vaccination. That is one of the many ‘culture shocks’ I have experienced since moving to Pittsburgh and is so relieving to know that most places will ask for a proof of vaccination and have reminders to wear a mask. I hope that the Broadway league will continue to gauge the pandemic and not restrict themselves to lifting the mandates in April but will extend it if the climate calls for it. Finally, I’m shocked that the Governor of New York is lifting mandates, especially after the surge of omicron cases.
I'm glad to see that the trend seems to be requiring masks and vaccines for the near future. And it's good timing to have it at the end of April so an assessment of whether or not the masks need to stay longer can happen. I think that once the weather starts to get better people will be spending more time outside and we'll start to see cases go down further. But it could also be the opposite and people gathering will cause another surge.
I still don't think it's safe to be going out to crowds but it seems like the world is moving forward regardless. A packed house for several hours will be more than enough to contribute to rising cases over the course of the next few months regardless of the soft barriers to entry that Broadway has put in place. Only time will tell but I really am hoping this pandemic ends within the next year. It's getting exhausting.
The Broadway League confirmed on Wednesday that Broadway theatres will still require audience members to wear masks and show proof of vaccination for entry. This is extremely reassuring to hear. The constant emphasis on 'returning to normalcy' and returning to what theatre 'used to be' is dangerous, especially with a pandemic that largely affects the respiratory system. It's dangerous because it pushes those in power to make risky decisions and put people in risky situations, regardless of the precautions taken, all for profit and 'normalcy'. The continuation of mask mandates is a bandage placed on a larger issue, but had the mask mandate been lifted in the theatres as well, that could create ripples and ripples of uncontrollable consequences, those of life and death proportions. With the lifting of statewide mask and vaccine mandates, the overall danger is heightened–to cast, crew, and audiences alike. I have no solution, I don't think anyone does, but I do hope that some level of health and safety can be maintained going forward.
4 comments:
As someone who made it through almost two years of the pandemic without getting COVID-19, and even after catching it, I still firmly believe that the masks and proof of vaccination are immensely important. Although I am excited about the return of live theater, I am still weary of closely packed audiences. Even something as simple as these mandates and bubble seating are useful to ease tensions. The New York governor deciding to lift the mandate overall was not the smartest decision in my opinion as people are still regularly getting sick. With that city being such a superspreader overall I am not sure that these Broadway shows are safe. Personally, I would not take my chances sitting in the house with that many strangers at this point but I guess we will see how this turns out. I just hope that if it ends up being the wrong move, not too many people become fatally ill.
This article makes me very hopeful that Broadway will have a better chance of reopening sooner, considering they follow through with this mask mandate. I do wish; however, that more places, such as private businesses would require proof of vaccination and mask mandates. I come from Huntsville, Alabama, and it is so uncommon for anywhere to require masks, let alone dare ask for proof of vaccination. That is one of the many ‘culture shocks’ I have experienced since moving to Pittsburgh and is so relieving to know that most places will ask for a proof of vaccination and have reminders to wear a mask. I hope that the Broadway league will continue to gauge the pandemic and not restrict themselves to lifting the mandates in April but will extend it if the climate calls for it. Finally, I’m shocked that the Governor of New York is lifting mandates, especially after the surge of omicron cases.
I'm glad to see that the trend seems to be requiring masks and vaccines for the near future. And it's good timing to have it at the end of April so an assessment of whether or not the masks need to stay longer can happen. I think that once the weather starts to get better people will be spending more time outside and we'll start to see cases go down further. But it could also be the opposite and people gathering will cause another surge.
I still don't think it's safe to be going out to crowds but it seems like the world is moving forward regardless. A packed house for several hours will be more than enough to contribute to rising cases over the course of the next few months regardless of the soft barriers to entry that Broadway has put in place. Only time will tell but I really am hoping this pandemic ends within the next year. It's getting exhausting.
The Broadway League confirmed on Wednesday that Broadway theatres will still require audience members to wear masks and show proof of vaccination for entry. This is extremely reassuring to hear. The constant emphasis on 'returning to normalcy' and returning to what theatre 'used to be' is dangerous, especially with a pandemic that largely affects the respiratory system. It's dangerous because it pushes those in power to make risky decisions and put people in risky situations, regardless of the precautions taken, all for profit and 'normalcy'. The continuation of mask mandates is a bandage placed on a larger issue, but had the mask mandate been lifted in the theatres as well, that could create ripples and ripples of uncontrollable consequences, those of life and death proportions. With the lifting of statewide mask and vaccine mandates, the overall danger is heightened–to cast, crew, and audiences alike. I have no solution, I don't think anyone does, but I do hope that some level of health and safety can be maintained going forward.
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