Vaccination and masking requirements, long gone in many parts of the country, have dropped in New York; on March 7, the city abandoned r...
Vaccination and masking requirements, long gone in many parts of the country, have dropped in New York; on March 7, the city abandoned rules require proof of vaccination to eat indoors in restaurants, for example. Other environments, including movie theaters as well as some comedy, sports, and concert venues, have opted to remove masking requirements. Masks are still mandatory on subways and buses, as well as indoor subway stations, but anecdotal evidence suggests compliance has declined.
Cases of the virus have recently been get up in new yorkbut the number of new cases remains well below levels at the height of Omicron’s surge.
Broadway decided to preserve the masking requirement, given the size of its audience (seating ranges from 585 at the Hayes, where “Take Me Out” plays, to 1,926 at the Gershwin, home to “Wicked.” ), the length of his shows (the longest, at three and a half hours, is “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), tight seating (many theaters were built a century ago) and the composition of its audience (traditionally 65% tourists, although there are now more locals given the impact of pandemic on travel).
Theater owners say audiences have mostly embraced the requirements – there have been occasional disputes over mask-wearing, but they’ve been far less common only on planesfor example, and most clients seem to have accepted the protocols.
Ditching vaccination verification will save producers money: Paying workers to check for proof of vaccination has been one of many Covid safety measures that have driven up the costs of running shows. Broadway.
Some New York City performing arts institutions have settled for more restrictive audience protocols. The Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall, for example, continue to require proof of vaccination (but have dropped the proof requirements of a booster) and masking.
The coronavirus pandemic, which in March 2020 led to a lengthy shutdown of Broadway theaters, has continued to plague the industry since theaters began reopening last summer. In December, the arrival of the Omicron variant prompted several shows to cancel performances; this month, the arrival of the BA. 2 sub-variant forced four shows to cancel performances after the stars whose Daniel Craig, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker tested positive.
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