Experts Say “Realistically” Festivals Might Not Return Till 2021 Due to Coronavirus

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music festivals coronavirus

Let’s take this in one more, from what a health professional told the New York Times, if we’re keeping it realistic, Festivals and Concerts may not return till 2021 in the fall. That’s almost 18 months before live music events become a reality again.

Taking this back a second, the world is currently grappling with the effects of the global pandemic COVID-19 and how to contain the virus across the globe. While health officials globally are learning by the day and trying to keep up with the virus, the 118,000 plus deaths are still on the rise.

Most events in the near future even ranging through till September now with Burning Man joining the list, have mostly been postponed or cancelled altogether for the year.

The New York Times spoke to five panellists about their thoughts on what reopening the economy and by when they saw the world going back to what we see as “normal.” And in a number of eye-opening revelations, one stood out to this avid festival-goers mind. Zeke Emmanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy revealed that large scale events might not be as near in the future as most of us are expecting them to be.

He said, “Restarting the economy has to be done in stages, and it does have to start with more physical distancing at a worksite that allows people who are at lower risk to come back. Certain kinds of construction, or manufacturing or offices, in which you can maintain six-foot distances are more reasonable to start sooner. Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they’re going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that’s a plausible possibility. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest.”

He further went on to explain what restarting these events prematurely could mean and the havoc it could cause saying, “The result would be repeated waves of exponential transmission followed by lockdowns, wreaking havoc on the economy and peoples’ lives. It will be far more devastating to our economy—and to public health—to experience waves and waves of virus response rather than properly return to normal when it is truly safe.”

While the uncertainty about what the virus holds for us in the future is unnerving since it is exactly as its name suggests, a NOVEL virus, there are only predictions which can be made based on data as and when we get it. As festivals see a major influx of global audiences, the real risk remains of a global resurgence of the virus. So if Coachella and EDC’s postponement to October was a call taken too soon remains to be seen, and only time will tell. As festivals see a major influx of global audiences, the real risk remains of a global resurgence of the virus.

H/T: Global Dance Electronic
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We have made a special playlist to help you stay engaged, and stay at home during this lockdown, you can stream it here.

Melody Siganporia
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