DC Metro Theater Arts: Now that Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser has lifted the mask mandate, with businesses no longer required to have patrons and staff wear masks beginning March 1, 2022, and proof of vaccination no longer required in entertainment venues, there’s obviously plenty of concern about COVID in the area.
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Reading the other comments, it is interesting to see where all the opinions came from in the height of the pandemic, where everything, including the vaccine and masks, was uncertain. However, commenting now from 2021, I believe that theatres should require vaccinations unless there is a medical, religious, or other reason. It is the policy now adopted by most colleges and places of work, but it was interesting to see the debates before the vaccine was verified. It was also enlightening to read the potential discrimination cases in the article because it is something I have not thought of before. The reason being is because I feel that the “exemption to the vaccine requirement” has been too often treated as a “loophole” rather than a real serious reason to not receive the vaccine. However, I see how it can affect those who cannot absolutely receive the vaccine, and how that can be isolating and exclusionary. However, despite this, I think my opinion still stands, that all those who are able to should receive the vaccine and it should be required in theatres, in order to ensure the safety of not only the performers, but the backstage crew as well, who often don’t have good health insurance.
I’m so glad that our industry is taking COVID seriously and keeping safety protocols in place, because I’m a little tired of being told that we can take our masks off and it be safe. We have learned, through multiple variants, that as soon as we drop protocol and try to return to normal COVID cases just come back surging. I don’t want to be wearing masks forever and I really do want a return to normalcy as much as the next person, but I deeply worry that if we decide to loosen up our restrictions too early then COVID will spread rapidly. Theatre and other live performing arts are especially vulnerable because of how many people we gather in one area at one time, indoors nonetheless. It’s a high risk situation to be in to catch this virus, and we as theatre makers have a responsibility to our patrons to keep the community safe however best we can.
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