Now that the pandemic has gotten closer to being in control, the government has opened up restaurants, sports events, and concerts. Although the news of the world resuming is exciting for some, others are not ready for it.
As the pandemic had its high and lows the number of resources that were closed increased. In New York, especially, the places that were once filled with thousands of people were then the emptiest places. During the worst months of COVID-19, arenas had to be closed down because of the drastic increase of cases and deaths. In order to keep the interaction with the fans, the teams sold seats, but instead of the people attending in person, their picture was placed on a seat in the stadium.
Some sports arenas/stadiums that have been reopened to the public in New York are Yankees Stadium, Citifield, Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, and other large arenas. With the excitement of the approval to reopen each place has announced social distancing and sanitizing of the hands to be mandatory.
Sports events weren’t the only kind of attraction that was put to a stop. Live performances, and eating at restaurants were major shutdowns as well. The temporary stop of concerts has impacted entertainers and celebrities dramatically. Due to the shutdown celebrities had to figure out how to interact with their fans and continue their entertainment virtually. At the start of the entire pandemic, most celebrities went live on social media platforms like Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and Tik Tok.
Now that things are getting better live performances will resume in April particularly for New York. It was announced that “the state will allow plays, concerts and other performances to start again April 2 for audiences of up to 100 people indoors or 200 outdoors.”
This is a big deal to those that enjoy attending concerts and other live performances. In the beginning, restaurants were shutting down or only doing take-out orders. Now in New York, the capacity has increased to 75% for indoor dining and outdoor seating is acceptable as long as it’s socially distanced.
Although millions of people are trying to resume their old ways like going to restaurants, attractions, venues, and stadiums there are those that aren’t comfortable enough to do that. This was proven to me when I interviewed a high school senior Brianna Williams.
“No, I honestly don’t plan on attending any concerts or sporting events that may open because I’m sure I won’t be comfortable wearing my mask while excited that I’m there. In addition, having to be cautious the whole time isn’t going to be as fun as I would want. Lastly, I had COVID once and wouldn’t want to be anxious the whole time of getting it again,”high school senior Brianna Williams said. “Maybe if everyone was in their own bubble and more than 6 feet away from each other I would feel more comfortable. I would also feel comfortable if I didn’t have to wear my mask the whole time especially if I was to be at a concert. Personally, because I’ve never gone to a concert I would want to sing my heart out and the mask would stop me.”
Even though the world is resuming again successfully, we all need to remain safe. By following the rules and regulations that are required this health emergency will eventually become less serious. If we continue to wear our mask above our nose and mouth, social distance, get tested often, and wash/sanitize our hands there wouldn’t be any more of feeling uncomfortable when going outside.
In addition, more attractions and fun things we used to do will allow a higher capacity of people to attend. I was shocked that someone my age felt so anxious about going back to the old norm. It was shocking because I am ready to get back to the way life once was and thought someone my age would feel the same way. I hope you have fun going to concerts, eating out, going to sporting events with your friends and family! Stay safe!
