Suspended last year due to the pandemic, the New York City Marathon will take place on November 7, its 50th edition, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
The 42 km race that crosses the five boroughs of New York will be held on the same date as each year, the first Sunday in November, with some 33,000 participants instead of 53,000 registered in 2019.
“The NYC marathon – the largest in the world – will return on November 7. 33,000 runners will be able to register. Registration opens June 8,” Cuomo tweeted.
More than half of the runners are people who had signed up for the 2020 marathon, suspended due to the pandemic that killed more than 30,000 people in New York City.
Ted Metellus, race director, assured for his part that “this will be an unprecedented and historic year” for the iconic marathon. “We are preparing a safe and memorable race for the 50th time; this year’s marathon will show the great strength, inspiration and determination of the city.”
In June, New York is preparing to launch a major campaign to revive tourism. The marathon, created in 1970, attracts about 250,000 tourists each year and in 2015 generated an economic impact estimated at 415 million dollars.
New York and the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut will lift most of the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic this Wednesday. And the metro in the Big Apple will operate around the clock again, as before the pandemic.
Nearly 62% of the New York state population has received at least one dose of the covid vaccine, according to official figures.
Cuomo said that New York will adopt the rules of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC, governmental) that make the use of masks more flexible for vaccinated people.
“If they are vaccinated, they are safe,” Cuomo told a news conference. “No chinstrap, no social distancing.”
The governor also announced that the famous Radio City Music Hall will only host people vaccinated at a capacity of 100%, without the need to wear a mask. A “creative” way to encourage vaccination, he estimated.
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