As COVID-19 Cases Fall, California Prepares to Open Indoor Sports and Entertainment Venues

The state of California is gearing to open up again for sports and entertainment venues to operate at pre-COVID levels within the next two weeks.

According to The Associated Press, after being hit hard with the coronavirus early last year, California is ready to do business as usual, well, as usual as it can be during the pandemic, starting on April 15. This means concert venues, sports arenas, and the like can start having indoor events due to cases of COVID-19 plummetting.

Late last week, the California Department of Public Health put out a statement regarding the April 15 date:

“Today’s update to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy is a result of the progress we are making both in vaccinations and in controlling the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency in a written statement. “By following public health guidelines such as wearing masks and getting vaccinated when eligible, we can resume additional activities as we take steps to reduce risk.”

“As we continue to expand vaccine distribution, California is poised for a safe and equitable recovery,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to Gov. Newsom and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “We will continue to work with businesses, arts organizations, community groups, and others to open carefully, with health and safety top of mind, so that we never have to go backwards.”

Already, current NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers have recently announced that basketball fans will be allowed back into Staples Center when the LeBron James-led team plays its arch-rival team, the Boston Celtics on April 15.

“We are incredibly excited that the State of California announced guidelines today that will allow Lakers fans to return to STAPLES Center. Now that we have the guidance, we will work with LA County Public Health and STAPLES Center to finalize our plans to have fans safely attend our games starting with the Lakers vs. Celtics game on April 15th. We look forward to welcoming Lakers fans back to STAPLES Center to continue the journey with us to defend our NBA title.”