Last week the California Department of Public Health provided clearance for Los Angeles Dodgers fans to attend games at Dodger Stadium by Opening Day of the 2021 regular season.
Under the state’s color-coded tier system, L.A. County is currently in the purple tier, meaning there are 9.6 new positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases per 100,000 residents.
If this holds, the Dodgers would not be able to sell concessions or admit more than 100 fans for their home opener against the Washington Nationals on April 9.
However, there is optimism that L.A. County will soon move into the red tier (four to seven new cases per 100,000 residents), having already satisfied two of the three criteria.
This would allow the Dodgers to sell food and drinks, as well as distribute 11,200 tickets — 20% capacity of Dodger Stadium — for their home opener and moving forward.
More good news came out this week that L.A. County is close to a wider reopening as coronavirus vaccines continue to be on the rise. According to state data, almost 1.88 million total vaccine doses have been administered to some of California’s most disadvantaged areas.
L.A. County is expected to administer an additional 312,000 doses in the coming days after receiving a large shipment of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson recently joined Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as one of three vaccines cleared for emergency use by the FDA. Unlike the other two, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires a single dose.
L.A. County officials believe they will soon be able to offer 600,000 vaccine appointments per week as production ramps up. This would help the area progress into the orange and yellow tiers as soon as possible.
Once a county reaches the orange tier, indicating moderate spread of the virus, teams can admit one-third of their ballpark’s capacity. In the yellow tier, indicating minimal spread of the virus, teams can play to two-thirds of capacity.
Stan Kasten thanks California Gov. Newsom for allowing limited fan attendance
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten thanked California Gov. Newsom for permitting limited fan attendance.
“On behalf of the Dodger organization and its fans, we want to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Governor Newsom, his staff and the many others who have worked tirelessly on these revised guidelines which provide a blueprint for California outdoor sports venues to re-open to fans,” Kasten said in a statement.
“Like the Governor, we’re optimistic that California will continue to make progress in the fight against COVID-19 and that we can safely host fans to start the season. Safety is paramount, and the Dodgers continue to work with local officials and Major League Baseball to finalize protocols to protect players, fans and staff.”
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