- Title: Broadway shows: Fans, workers must get COVID-19 shots by curtain time
- Date: 30th July 2021
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - APRIL 3, 2021) (REUTERS) THEATER GOER WEARING MASK HAVING TICKET SCANNED, TEMPERATURE CHECKED PEOPLE IN THEATER LOBBY VARIOUS INSIDE THEATER WITH PEOPLE WEARING MASKS NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - SEPTEMBER 18, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MARQUIS THEATER TRAFFIC IN TIMES SQUARE VARIOUS OF LUNT-FONTANNE THEATRE, LOCATION OF TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL SIGN ON DOOR READING (English): "UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, ALL BROADWAY SHOWS IN NEW YORK CITY HAVE SUSPENDED ALL PERFORMANCES AS OF MARCH 12, 2020. OUR TOP PRIORITY IS THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR COMPANY AND THE THEATRE-GOING PUBLIC. PERFORMANCES ARE SCHEDULED TO RESUME THE WEEK OF APRIL 13, 2020." VARIOUS THEATER EXTERIORS VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SHUBERT THEATRE WHERE 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD' IS PLAYING VARIOUS OF TKTS BOOTH IN TIMES SQUARE VARIOUS OF BROADWAY BILLBOARDS IN TIMES SQUARE EXTERIOR OF VARIOUS THEATERS ON SIDE STREET IN TIMES SQUARE
- Embargoed: 13th August 2021 16:59
- Keywords: COVID broadway masks proof theater vaccine vax
- Location: INTERNET / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: INTERNET / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Theatre,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA002EO19P3B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Broadway audiences will need masks and proof of vaccination, while the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall plan to require shots and to bar children under age 12 who are not yet eligible for COVID-19 inoculations, New York operators said on Friday (July 30).
All of the city's 41 Broadway theaters are mandating documentation of full vaccination before allowing indoor entry to patrons, performers, backstage crew and theatre staff for all shows through October 2021, the Broadway League said in a statement. Masks are required for audience members.
The announcement comes just days before Broadway's reopening after a 16-month shutdown forced by the coronavirus pandemic, as the fast-spreading Delta variant picks up speed and indoor mask wearing even by vaccinated people is now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"A uniform policy makes it simple for our audiences and should give even more confidence to our guests about how seriously Broadway is taking audience safety," League president Charlotte St. Martin said in the statement.
"Exceptions are being made for children and people with a medical condition or closely held religious belief that prevents vaccination," the League said. Doors will be open to them only after they "provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time, or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time," the League said.
The policy may be relaxed in November, "if the science dictates," it said.
Some of the city's other preeminent performing arts centers, including The Metropolitan Opera, are fully barring children under age 12 and making masks optional for the audience.
"As soon as children under the age of 12 become eligible to receive a vaccine, fully vaccinated children will be welcomed back to the Met," the iconic opera house said in a statement.
Both Broadway and the Met are opening at full capacity rather than partially to enforce social distancing, with Broadway theaters ranging in size from 600 to 1,000 seats and the Met seating 3,000, The New York Times reported.
"As we get ready for Broadway's big comeback, the entire theater community is committed to the highest level of public health standards," Nick Scandalios of The Nederlander Organization, a spokesman for theater owners, said in a statement.
"We're all eager to welcome our many patrons and fans back to the magic of Broadway," Scandalios said.
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