Commencing April 2, New York state will allow concerts to resume at 33 percent capacity, with a limit of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and a requirement that all attendees wear masks and be socially distanced. Those limits would be increased — to 150 people indoors or 500 people outdoors — if all attendees should test negative before entering.
Due to the fact that venues require social distancing and mask-wearing, a number of show promoters and venue operators say that reopening simply isn’t economically feasible.
“Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable,” Michael Swier, the owner of the New York City rock clubs Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, told The New York Times.
The New York announcement comes just a day after the governors of Texas and Mississippi said that they were lifting mask mandates and allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity.