Omicron Variant Concerns

Now that the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 has been detected in NYC, do we fear another shutdown of Broadway could be imminent?

It’s going to take scientists several weeks to determine if the vaccines work against it and how dangerous it is compared to the other variant. If Broadway shuts down, it will probably be along with everything else shutting down and because the vaccines don’t combat it. Hopefully that won’t be the case.

God, I hope not! I did hear though that the omicron cases were fully vaccinated individuals, but had very mild symptoms and are expected to recover.

adotburr said: "Nope. The known cases of this variant are causing a very mild illness. Obviously any variant is of concern but a lot of people are overreacting already."

While it's true that it appears that the variant isn't any more dangerous than Delta, it is believed to be more contagious. At most I think we'll only see shutdowns in the vein of Aladdin or Chicago.

Dylan Smith4 said: "God, I hope not! I did hear though that the omicron cases were fully vaccinated individuals, but had very mild symptoms and are expected to recover."



in other words, just like having the common cold

Another shutdown would destroy Broadway and the US economy. Having had to work during the first shutdown, I'll be damned if I'm gonna work through that nonsense again.

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Another shutdown = the death of Broadway

I hope our elected officials are aware of that, and make plans accordingly."

I don't think there is any reason another shutdown would be necessary in New York (it appears that Omicron is contagious but not very dangerous, and a large majority of people in NYC are vaccinated (and an overwhelming majority within the theatre-going precincts), but I cannot fathom how another shutdown would kill Broadway (permanently, which I assume is the suggestion). I hope our elected officials follow the science. In the final analysis human life is more important than anything else. (This seems like something that should not need to be explained, but just look at what murderers some of our elected officials have proven themselves to be.)

I don't see Broadway producers holding onto their shows again if they're shutdown for another X months.

No.

As others have said, it appears to be that Omicron cases are generally mild among fully vaccinated people. Considering that Broadway is requiring vaccinations (and masks) I think it's pretty safe. Broadway doesn't shut down for colds or the flu. Not to say that individual shows won't suspend performances if a company member tests positive, but I really don't think we're gonna see anything close to what happened in 2020. As mentioned another shutdown would be extremely bad news for the industry and many shows would probably sadly not survive. Broadway needs the money so I think they will do whatever they can to stay open, especially as we're getting into the busy holiday season when a ton of ticket sales come pouring in. As long as schools, restaurants, movie theatres, retail shops, etc remain open (with vaccine and mask mandates in place) I don't see Broadway going anywhere. They are taking all the right precautions. Being in a Broadway theatre where everyone has shown proof of vaccination and is masked is probably safer than going to the grocery store.

Omicron was probably floating around here for a while before anyone from the anime convention tested positive for it. I've been boosted for a month, I'm double-masking at the theatre, and I'm only eating indoors in sparsely populated places, and I'm still surprised at seeing instagram stories of people at crowded bars (but that's how I've felt for almost two years now...). I think it's VERY easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of panic, but I follow enough real epidemiologists on social media to not do so myself.

The only real cause for concern would be if the variant was vaccine resistant, which is almost impossible. It would take a decade of mutation for that to happen.

I think the new actions, such as the expansion of booster access and at-home tests, are enough to make it through the winter wave. We also caught the new variant really early, and almost two years of the pandemic has given us plenty of experience with this virus to contain it without completely shutting down again.

As someone said on another thread, Broadway's been open now for 4 months, with over 30 shows open, thousands of theatre artists working again, and tens of thousands of audience members, and we've only seen 3 shows cancel performances due to breakthrough cases.

I don't think ANYONE'S economy can handle another shut down, so unless EVERYTHING shuts down again - which I find incredibly doubtful - I doubt we'll see it.

It is encouraging that nearly all breakthrough cases, including those not boosted (which is most of them), have been mild. As was true with Alpha and Delta. But, as always, more data needed.

As to what I said about the ramifications of another Broadway shutdown, I stand by what I said earlier. Broadway would not recover.