Topline
California-based music festivals Coachella and Stagecoach will not require attendees to wear masks, get vaccinated against the coronavirus or provide negative Covid-19 tests this spring, the latest entities to relax Covid-19 restrictions.
Festivalgoers attend the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on … [+]
Key Facts
Country music festival Stagecoach, which will be held from April 29 to May 1 and attracts 85,000 attendees annually, said its Covid-19 policy is “in accordance with local guidelines” in a Tuesday post on social media.
Coachella, which is likely to see 250,000 attendees over two weekends in April, did not publicize its no-mask policy, but made it available on the festival’s website.
Coachella and Stagecoach are both promoted by Goldenvoice, and websites for both festivals warn state guidelines could change at any time, “COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease” and “there is an inherent and elevated risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public place or place where people are present.”
California’s indoor mask mandate expires for vaccinated people Wednesday, though the state is still requiring mask-wearing for unvaccinated people and in settings like schools.
Key Background
Coachella and Stagecoach are both returning this year following cancellations in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) will headline Coachella, and Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett will lead Stagecoach. Lollapalooza, which was canceled in 2020 but held last summer in Chicago, required attendees to be vaccinated or provide a negative Covid-19 test result. Roughly 200 Covid-19 cases were linked to the festival, though Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said at the time it was not a “superspreader.” New York City’s Governors Ball music festival, which was held in September, also required proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test.
Tangent
Some other businesses have loosened mask-wearing rules, as Covid-19 cases slide and states like New York and California ease their mask mandates. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney World in Florida dropped their indoor mask mandates for vaccinated visitors on Tuesday. Though attendees of Sunday’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles were required to be vaccinated or show a negative test result and were required to wear masks at all times when not eating or drinking, many attendees appeared to go maskless. Meanwhile, next month’s SXSW festival in Austin will require attendees to be vaccinated or provide a negative Covid-19 test, and masks must be worn in certain specified indoor venues and are strongly encouraged “indoors in all other areas and where social distancing cannot be maintained.”
Further Reading
California Will Keep School Mask Mandate For At Least Two More Weeks — Even As State Lifts Indoor Mandate (Forbes)
Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals Drop All COVID-Related Restrictions, Including Negative Tests and Masks (Variety)
Disney World And Disneyland Ditch Mask Mandates For Vaccinated Guests (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/02/15/coachella-and-stagecoach-music-festivals-wont-require-masks-or-covid-vaccines/