When the news of the quarantine hit last month, and with travel and public gatherings severely restricted, every spring tour on the books was canceled. But many big summer tours have still not officially been canceled – for example, the big Motley Crue tour, Megadeth and Lamb of God's tour, Rammstein's big stadium tour. But based on what U.S. President Donald Trump told sports leagues owners and commissioners on a call yesterday, we are looking at August at best for when public gatherings will be allowed.
Trump told sports commissions and later reporters in a briefing that he wants fans back at games in August. “They want to get back,’’ President Trump said in a press briefing of the sports leagues. “They gotta get back. They can’t do this. Their sports weren’t designed for it. The whole concept of our nation wasn’t designed for it. We’re gonna have to get back. We want to get back soon.” Whether that's a realistic request is a whole other story.
The entire reasoning for canceling all these gatherings is to halt the spread of COVID-19. The problem right now is, we do not have adequate testing to determine exactly who has it and who doesn't. Until there is a near-instant test available, it will be very hard to convince folks that it's safe to gather. If the quarantine is lifted too soon, infection rates will balloon and hospitals will be even more overwhelmed than they are now, and more people will die.
And, that's the big question. If Trump says it's okay to go back to publicly gather in August, will you jump at the idea to go back to attending shows, even if there is still a possibility of getting infected? A vaccine is likely still a year away, at best. Will venues be offering mandatory masks and gloves for all attendees? Or would that get in the way of fans enjoying concessions? Will venues, especially seated venues, forcibly create space between the audience and undersell their venues to create some semblance of social distancing? There is so much still up in the air.
Most league officials have said even if a ban is lifted, if their in house health professionals say it is not safe, they would not move forward. Trump floated the idea of the leagues working together to lobby for tax incentives that used to exist for entertainment expenses, like deducting concessions and tickets from taxes. As if that's what's stopping people.
We want to ask you, the Metal Injection reader. We assume you enjoy seeing metal live. When will you feel comfortable attending shows?
Let us know when you'll be comfortable to go to shows again in the comments.
