According to Dr. Anthony Fauci who believes that concert venues and theaters could reopen “some time in the fall of 2021,” there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for artists and music consumers.
While the statement sounds promising, the top infectious disease expert says that the return to live events depends on the effectiveness and rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination, with a caveat that in-person audiences may be wearing face masks and practicing social-distancing.
According to his interview with the New York Times, “If everything goes right, this will occur some time in the fall of 2021, so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience,” Fauci said, noting that the return depends upon getting between 70% to 85% of the population vaccinated.
Like a myriad of other businesses, the live-entertainment industry has been devastated by the pandemic, with most venues closed down since March of 2020. While the Save Our Stages Act was passed into law last month as part of the government’s larger COVID-19 Relief Bill, it’s $10 billion subsidy package to America’s independent concert venues is dire.
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Photo: NIAID