After a two-year hiatus, the Coachella music festival will be returning without any major COVID-19 safety measures in place.
On Tuesday organizers announced that attendees of the event, which drew up to 125,000 fans a day to Southern California prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, would not be required to wear masks, be vaccinated or be tested, according to The New York Times.
A warning on the Coachella website notes that COVID-19 "is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death" and that there is "no guarantee, express or implied, that those attending the festival will not be exposed to COVID-19."
The announcement further cautions ticketholders to "evaluate their risk in determining whether to attend the festival."
Organizers did however note that the festival's current COVID-19 policies may change "in accordance with applicable public health conditions."
Similar guidance was released Tuesday for the Southern California country music festival Stagecoach, which takes place in April and May of this year.
"As we prepare to spend an incredible weekend in the desert together we are announcing that there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Stagecoach 2022, in accordance with local guidelines," an announcement posted on Twitter by event organizers read. Stagecoach attracts around 85,000 attendees annually, according to Forbes.
The announcement had Twitter users up-in-arms.
"@StagecoachCelebrating the death of a few hundred thousand? You are amazing people," one person tweeted.
"Great you guys are really looking out for the health and well being of everyone..." another Twitter user sarcastically replied.
"So those attending are free to go and spread the virus, then others will bring it home to spread. I call this selfish, someone will die because of others careless partying," remarked a Twitter user.
"People will die because of your decision. More people will get lifelong long COVID symptoms. Wow," another chimed in.
Both outdoor music festivals were canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coachella returns with a lineup that includes Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) while Stagecoach will see Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett headlining the event.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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