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Several entertainment venues across the Triangle now require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Until recently, most sites only required face masks.

Now, DPAC and all Live Nation locations, which include the Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Walnut Creek, the Red Hat Amphitheater, and the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, require one of the two options.

The Carolina Theater in Durham and The Ritz in Raleigh also require vaccination or a negative test within the past 72 hours.

Fully vaccinated people should have received their final dose at least two weeks before the event.

Several venues go even further, forcing staff and even performers to get vaccinated or test negative.

Last week, 3 Doors Down canceled its Oct. 7 show at Red Hat, citing “new regulations in place since the show was announced.”

Last month, health officials said the large crowds filling stadiums and downtown streets had not led to an increase in coronavirus infections as much as small intimate gatherings.

Since the start of the pandemic in North Carolina, only eight clusters, totaling 136 cases statewide, have been linked to concerts, festivals and sporting events, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. ‘State. A cluster is defined as five or more cases of coronavirus that can be related to each other.

Several health services say a large number of cases originate from occasional indoor gatherings where people are in close contact without masks.

Restaurants, for example, are linked to a recent increase in virus clusters, state officials said.