The state of New York will allow the reopening of closed and large stadiums show rooms to 10% capacity from this month, nearly a year after its shutdown due to the pandemic, the governor announced Wednesday Andrew Cuomo.
The Barclays Center stadium will be the first to reopen to welcome the spectators of the game of the NBA of the Brooklyn Nets against the Sacramento Kings February 23.
It will be the first time in 352 days that the Nets have played in front of spectators.
Cuomo said that any closed site with a maximum capacity of 10,000 people will be able to operate at 10% capacity, including concert halls and theaters, to ensure “a safe reopening.”
The Barclays Center normally accommodates a maximum of 17,700 people.
Spectators will have to show that they have taken the Covid-19 test and it has been negative less than 72 hours before the event.
Their temperature will also be taken before entering the stadium, and they must wear a chinstrap and respect their distance from other spectators.
The announcement follows a successful test in January when 6,700 spectators turned out for an NFL game with the Buffalo Bills.
All fans had to present proof of a negative test before they could sit in the stadium Bills de Orchard Park, New York, which has 71,600 locations.
Several states around the country already allow large stadiums to host the public, especially Florida, where 25,000 people attended the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Cuomo did not provide information on public places that host fewer than 10,000 people.
Nor did he say when the New York Knicks, rivals of the Nets, will be able to play their first game in front of fans at their 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden stadium.
Cuomo banned all crowds of more than 500 people on March 12, 2020, when the pandemic began to devastate New York. The Covid-19 it has left more than 45,000 dead in the state.
The governor said the rate of positive tests in New York continues to fall for the 33rd day in a row, from 7.94% on January 4 to 4.31% on Tuesday, February 9.
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