New York’s Broadway, Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall will require vaccines

If you want to see a live show in New York City, be prepared to show proof that you have received your Covid shots.

The Broadway League announced Friday that the owners and operators of the 41 Broadway theaters in New York City will require members of the public, performers, backstage crew and theater staff to be fully immunized until October.

Young children or those with health issues or religious beliefs that prevent vaccinations can still attend shows if they have proof of a negative Covid-19 test. They will need a PCR test done within 72 hours of the performance start time or a negative antigen test done within 6 hours of the performance start time to be admitted.

“A uniform policy across all Broadway theaters in New York makes things easier for our audience and should give our guests even more confidence in how seriously Broadway takes public safety,” said Charlotte St. Martin. , president of the Broadway League.

The public inside the theater will also be required to wear masks, except when eating or drinking in designated areas.

In September, the league will revise this policy for performances starting in November.

The Metropolitan Opera will also require guests, performers, orchestra, choir, and staff to show proof of vaccination, but face masks will be optional. The opera will prohibit children under 12 from attending performances.

“Met policy says masks will be optional, this could change depending on the prevailing health situation at the time. Also, unlike Broadway, we will not allow any exceptions to the vaccination-only policy at all,” he said. a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Opera said in an email.

Guests will be required to show proof of vaccination upon entering the theater and they must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the FDA or WHO. This means that guests must wait at least two weeks after their last snapshots to attend a performance.

The New York Times reported that Carnegie Hall would also require proof of vaccination and ban children under 12 from attending performances. Young children are not yet eligible for the Covid vaccine.

Carnegie Hall did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The new requirements come as the delta variant spreads rapidly across the country, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines encouraging people to resume wearing masks in areas of the country where the number of cases is increasing, even if they have been vaccinated. It was a reversal of the agency’s previous policy.

The CDC warns that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and could make people sicker than the original Covid.