With the coronavirus pandemic, get together 40, 000 people indoors for two days in a competition, it can be risky
Photo: Archive / Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
A massive national cheerleading competition is coming to downtown Atlanta , in Georgia, this weekend.
Expected to attend around 40,000 youths cheerleaders, coaches and spectators from across the country, and according to CDC guidelines, has all the conditions for a possible super contagion event of Covid – 19 .
The National Cheersport Cheerleading Championship will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), a 3.9 million square foot facility in downtown Atlanta, reported CNN.
“This weekend’s event will bring approximately 40, 000 attendees, which will be our largest event held in our building since the start of the pandemic (using the 12 March 2020, as the start date) ”, said the manager GWCC Marketing and Communications Officer, Randy Lieberman in an email to CNN.
The GWCC also houses a center for patients with Covid – 19 in one of its buildings.
According to Varsity Spirit, the company that organizes the Cheersport competitions, no one who attends the event will be within a quarter of a mile from the Covid facility – 19, which houses Covid patients – 19 with mild to moderate illnesses.
But because it is an indoor event with tens of thousands of participants, the attendees “assume all risks related to exposure to Covid – 19 ”when participating, said Varsity Spirit in their guidelines for the weekend.
According to the guidelines Varsity Spirit provided to CNN, all coaches and entertainers must wear a mask to enter the building and “during transitions” between practice and performance. Animators do not need to wear masks during his performance.
Guidelines do not ask attendees to take Covid screenings or tests – 19, but the company asked anyone with Covid symptoms – 19 such as high fever, cough and loss of taste or smell, among others, to stay at home.
