Concerts and other indoor and outdoor festivities have been closed down since March of last year. This was due to the fast spread of COVID 19 and hospitals not being able to keep up with all the patients needing Intensive Care. Many concerts have still been cancelled or postponed even after a year of them not happening. 

Health Officials in California are allowing ball parks, stadiums, and theme parks to open up at reduced capacity with the social distancing and mask requirements. However, concerts have been the hardest thing to bring back unlike dining and other outdoor events that are easier to keep safe. Concerts involve many people screaming and cheering all on top of eachother. Many health  officials are projecting to have outdoor concerts by fall of 2021 and all indoor concerts and festivities by 2022. Indoor events with full capacity have seemed to have been the super spreader for COVID. 

When concerts shut down last March, the concert industry lost about $9.7 billion dollars in ticket sales alone. It was also one of the first industries to shut down. Many have wondered when concerts will start reappearing again. The vaccine is said to have been somewhat effective, giving people hope to return to a somewhat normal life. This has not been entirely true as some people have still gotten COVID even after getting the vaccine, some have had other health problems from getting the vaccine, or some just don’t want to get it. This leaves the vaccine highly unreliable. “I’m vaccinated and also have not gotten COVID and feel worry free” said Pierce when asked if he thinks the vaccine will help stop the spread of COVID. The vaccine to many people is just another barrier like masks helping to make things return to normal safely. 

Being close to people in a concert setting can be one of the quickest ways to spread this virus if not done correctly. Concerts seem to be an uplifting experience for all ages to enjoy. “I think concerts would help the country open up and it’s a good social thing that uplifts people” said Pierce about what concerts would do for our country. This pandemic has hit many people harder than others even if their families didn’t actually get the virus.

There are many steps we can take to make sure concerts can return safely. Alyssa Alosi said, “Have each individual turn in a negative COVID test and maintain seats that are 6 feet apart”. This will be like the travel guidelines for many countries when traveling to them. A mandatory negative test 24 hours before the concert will allow a confirmation that the person does not have COVID. Pierce added ““Concerts could check temperatures of people. They could also require you to be vaccinated instead of wearing a mask”. Checking temperatures of people will allow one of the symptoms of the virus to be eliminated which is a fever. Also, like many colleges this fall, requiring you to take a vaccine could also make not only the concert safer for you, but the people around you. 

Overall, the country has opened most things back up safely. The starting of concerts will only add to make things go back to normal. People are calling it “The Roaring 20’s” like after the last pandemic, when everything went good again and surged.