People filter into Kidd Brewer Stadium on September 4, 2021 to attend the Luke Combs concert.
On September 4 over 32,000 people attended a Luke Combs concert. Many students at Watauga and other members of the community attended the event, sparking worry among some about the safety during the time of COVID.
The Luke Combs concert was held outside at Kidd Brewer Stadium. This huge event attracted many people, including Austin Dyer who is a sophomore at Watauga.
“I think that because it was outside it is fine but if it was inside and there were that many people there I think it should have been cancelled,” said Dyer.
Vivian Rushing, sophomore, did not attend the event.
“I think that hosting an event, especially of that size in the middle of a pandemic is just not a good idea,” Rushing said.
The event did have COVID regulations in place. Masking indoors was required while outside it was up to the individual's discretion. The lack of additional guidelines caused some Watauga students to stay away.
“There are no COVID guidelines set outside, so technically no rules were broken,” Rushing said. “I definitely think it could have been more safe if masks were required to be worn.”
People at the event saw masks and certain COVID regulations being followed, but understood the difficulty of enforcing such regulations.
“I saw a decent bit of people wearing masks and trying to stay socially distanced, but it was a big event and couldn't be protected completely,” said Ben Gosky, sophomore, who attended the event.
A COVID outbreak was definitely a concern for many who attended the event and those who didn't attend.
“At the time I was worried about catching COVID from someone because of the concert,” Rushing said. “Mainly because contract tracing would have been impossible to conduct after the concert. I know some people that wore masks to the concert, so I wasn't as worried about them. I did not attend because I was worried about COVID.”
Some who did attend felt safer because of their vaccination status.
¨I have gotten my vaccine so I am not worried,¨ said Gosky.
Still, some students who attended the concert had reservations about the size of the event.
“I am worried because I feel like there is going to be an outbreak and I just don't want to be a part of that,” Dyer said.
Melissa Bracey is the Director of Communications and Compliance at Appalachian Healthcare. App Healthcare was closely monitoring the event.
“We know that prior to the event, there was a high level of transmission occurring locally of the virus and that's been the case for the last few weeks and holds true today,” Bracey said.
The Luke Combs concert is one of several large events scheduled for the region, which include Merlefest, and the Wooly Worm festival. Citizens should expect COVID cases to fluctuate due to the mass events that have the potential to draw people from all over.
¨We know that the best protection against COVID and the best path out of the pandemic is for those who are eligible to be vaccinated to get vaccinated.¨ Bracey said.
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