SACRAMENTO, California (AP) – Sports, theater and music fans will be able to sit down in California again, as the state’s coronavirus cases plummet and vaccines increase.
After a year-long ban on most indoor seats, the state Friday set the stage for a literal scenario that could see the resumption of NBA games and live entertainment performances in most counties starting April 15. .
Most of the state’s 58 counties will be allowed to allow at least some internal seats because they fall into the lower three levels of California’s four-tier COVID-19 restriction plan. Large population centers like San Francisco, Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County are in the second, less restrictive orange layer. Only three counties – San Joaquin, Merced and Inyo – remain in the highest purple layer, indicating “widespread” COVID-19 risk.
The others will have some internal seats “with capacity limits and modifications, including physical distance, advance purchase of tickets, designated areas for eating and drinking and limited service to visitors in the state,” according to a state public health announcement.
At the red level, locations with up to 1,500 people can operate at 10% capacity and grow to 25% if all guests provide evidence of vaccination or a negative test. Locations with 1,501 people or more can operate at 20% capacity in the red layer, but guests must present proof of vaccination or negative test. Increased capacity for layers where the virus is less widespread.
State officials will not require testing or proof of vaccination for some of these events. Events that require testing and vaccines may have more paying customers than those that do not. Only people who live in California can attend these performances live.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced that fans will be allowed to return to the Staples Center for an April 15 game against the Boston Celtics.
“Obviously we don’t know exactly how many fans will be there yet, but just having a few will bring us a lot of energy,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “One of everyone’s favorite things is to go to the Lakers games, and they weren’t able to do that during this pandemic.”
Ben Bleiman, a San Francisco nightlife activist and president of the California Music and Culture Association, said locals need full capacity to make any money – but members will accept the change, albeit with fear.
“On the one hand, you have the excitement and the joy of reopening,” he said, adding on the other, “there is a certain fear that something will go wrong.”
California has eased the restrictions on COVID-19 while recovering from a deadly winter wave, although public health officials still demand that people follow the protocols for social distance and wearing masks. Rates of hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted, and the rate of people testing positive for the virus is near record high.
California rules are different for private indoor meetings, including weddings, meetings or conferences. They will only be allowed if all guests test negative for coronavirus at least 72 hours in advance or present proof of complete vaccination. The changes do not mention the requirement for proof of vaccination and place a large part of the inspection on business owners and operators.
“Allowing some of these activities and opportunities for vaccinated individuals is an incentive,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office for Economic and Business Development. “If they can return to some of their favorite activities because they have been vaccinated, then, hopefully, some more people will and will be vaccinated.”
The new rules appear to push California toward a vaccine verification system, a hotly debated issue across the country. New York has launched a digital pass that residents can use to prove vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test that is accepted at major entertainment venues. But Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Friday prohibiting companies from requiring so-called “vaccine passports”.
President Joe Biden’s administration said the federal government will not present a national vaccine passport application, leaving it to the private sector. But the federal government is planning how and when these passports can be used.
California public health officer Dr. Tomás Aragón said on Friday that the state would follow the lead of the federal government, but said that vaccination would not be necessary for essential services.
California’s new rules come at a time when the state has administered nearly 19 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. Almost 6.9 million people are fully vaccinated in a state with about 40 million residents. Only people aged 50 and over are eligible across the state to receive the vaccine now, followed by those aged 16 and over on April 15.
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Har reported from San Francisco.