COVID-19 Update, May 7, 2021: Split Screen

It's like looking at a split screen. Here and in the UK, things are getting noticeably better, and hopes are rising. The live events industry is gearing up. Broadway now has an opening date. The West End calendar is packed with opening dates. Dance, opera, and theatre companies are announcing their seasons. Plans are being made for concert tours. The end of the pandemic is at last in sight -- even if, sadly the US is retreating from the goal of herd immunity. Elsewhere, suffering persists: Brazil is being torn apart and South America continues to suffer. Japan may not be ready for the Olympics. And India has been reduced to a charnel house. We can only be safe when this problem is solved worldwide. Thus, the pressure increases on wealthy countries to share resources, including vaccines. Fortunately, there are several positive developments on the vaccine front. If we have the will, we can keep the momentum going.

The latest:
More then one hundred million Americans are now fully vaccinated: tinyurl.com/2zrzvxeh. Infections have dropped in 42 states and the District of Columbia: tinyurl.com/6nszynj6. Optimism grows that the US has finally turned a corner in the pandemic: tinyurl.com/n42hsbbp.

Meanwhile, as vaccinations decline across the US, the focus shifts from mass vaccination sites to community outreach programs designed to persuade the hesitant: tinyurl.com/5t5b5ca9.

But global COVID infections reach new heights, thanks to the outbreaks in India and South America: tinyurl.com/bjmd4b72 .

The US will restrict travel to and from coronavirus-devastated India: tinyurl.com/fcukrua. The Biden administration supports intellectual property waivers for COVID vaccines, to speed up global distribution: tinyurl.com/3tsxscuv. Germany isn't too happy about Biden's statement: tinyurl.com/k77ac3vw. The German CureVac vaccine, set to be approved next week, could make a huge difference in the global fight against the coronavirus: tinyurl.com/bzaytbzn.

Europe speeds up its vaccination process, expects to be on a par with the US by July: tinyurl.com/3uk8amfa. The continent will welcome vaccinated American tourists starting this summer: tinyurl.com/2n8xb7vu.

More than 46 million displaced persons have been excluded from vaccination: tinyurl.com/y66nvwhd.

Good news: A Moderna booster shot shows promising results against the Brazilian and South African variants: tinyurl.com/4ffe97et.

Pfizer and BioNTech apply for full US approval for use on anyone over 16:tinyurl.com/43t6xn66.

A federal judge strikes down the CDC's moratorium on evictions: tinyurl.com/2n8ejky8.

The TSA extends mask mandates on planes and other forms of public transportation until September: tinyurl.com/5rnyxpnt.

Weekly jobless claims fall below 500,000, a new low for the pandemic: tinyurl.com/t5yv4tr5.

The Actors' Fund releases a study detailing the effects of the pandemic on theatre and entertainment workers: tinyurl.com/277s3b2j.

Applicants for SVOG grants are unlikely to see any money before the end of May: tinyurl.com/4v4xhyes.

As per the CDC, US cinemas no longer need to disinfect between screenings, but many of them are doing it anyway: tinyurl.com/eburyb23.

The CDC releases new guidance, allowing the cruise industry to apply to sail with volunteer passengers on test voyages: tinyurl.com/2bw2w755.

Food for thought:

Herd immunity is looking increasingly like an unattainable goal: tinyurl.com/2vj7pccz.

Vaccine hesitancy and the inability to reach herd immunity threatens to widen the red state - blue state divide: tinyurl.com/7pxybjc.

US companies mull over whether to require vaccinations: tinyurl.com/u9sez3ur.

Around the country:

In California:

New COVID infections continue to plummet, despite outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest: tinyurl.com/yzvhkc9n.

Los Angeles reports no new COVID cases for two days in a row: tinyurl.com/vjthjvyy.

In Florida:

Governor De Santis bans local COVID restrictions and vaccine passports: tinyurl.com/4m7ut55e. In response, Norwegian Cruise Lines may eliminate Florida departures: tinyurl.com/ykbvsmz5.

Muslim groups in Miami-Dade Country help to fight vaccine hesitancy: tinyurl.com/5ekyxfvj.

The governor's ban on masks only goes so far: tinyurl.com/6mtxfza7.

In Illinois:

Mayor Lightfoot aims to reopen Chicago by July 4: tinyurl.com/42eupadj.

The pace of vaccination slows notably, as experts struggle to reach the vaccine-resistant: tinyurl.com/yxker27x.

In New York:

Governor Cuomo further ends capacity restrictions on businesses, including Broadway, beginning May 19. Customers will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test: tinyurl.com/7urzpk8y. Attendance at large arena shows will remain capped at 33%: tinyurl.com/55mcss67.

It's official: Broadway will reopen at 100% capacity on September 14: tinyurl.com/2292cm89. The musical Six looks fair to be the first show back with a September 17 opening: tinyurl.com/2m9ww44t. The Phantom of the Opera will return October 22: tinyurl.com/9rpxu3js. The ultra-long-running musical Chicago will reopen September 14: tinyurl.com/th7exvuc. Roughly 30 shows are set to open/reopen by the end of the year: tinyurl.com/54ckejhy.

New York City announces a $25 million program to get artists back to work: tinyurl.com/3mprhrz8.

American Ballet Theatre announces a summer tour: https://tinyurl.com/4favn5yj .

The COVID-caused labor dispute at the Metropolitan Opera remains unresolved. Now IATSE says that the company's season, which is currently set to begin on September 27, will not happen until 2022: tinyurl.com/tvhmrk5v.

If you get vaccinated at one of the city's MLB ballparks, the Mets or the Yankees will give you baseball tickets: tinyurl.com/tv6bazh8.

Tourists coming to New York City can get jabbed with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, says Mayor De Blasio. Of course, it takes 14 days to become fully effective: tinyurl.com/r8pwu937.

In Oregon:

A church sued over coronavirus restrictions; now it is linked to an outbreak of 74 infections: tinyurl.com/4panmvu3.

In Texas:

Houston Ballet will return to live performance for its 2021 - 22 season: tinyurl.com/72by3yzx. Wicked, the first musical to return to touring, will kick off in Dallas in August: tinyurl.com/2cm3k629.

In Wisconsin:

Milwaukee's Summerfest will present more than 100 artists over the first three weekends in September: www.summerfest.com/.

Around the world:

In Brazil:

As aid is rushed to India, this country remains isolated, thanks to President Bolsonaro's bullying, insulting ways: tinyurl.com/yc9dpy4d.

The former health minister testifies in a senate inquiry that President Bolsonaro repeatedly ignored warnings about the pandemic: tinyurl.com/rdmkp48p.

In Canada:

The Shaw Festival delays its season again, this time to mid-July: tinyurl.com/yrudcxwx.

Alberta has the worst coronavirus infection rate in North America: tinyurl.com/8h7uf89u.

In France:

Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot releases guidelines of the reopening of cultural venues, including cinemas, beginning May 13: tinyurl.com/2jusnam8.

In India:

The country sets another awful new record, with more than 412,000 infections in a single day: tinyurl.com/5b6464yr.

Ex-pats and immigrants around the world scramble to help their home country: tinyurl.com/2jbpav73.

The 8,000 Australians living in India are barred from returning home: tinyurl.com/3vzr569z.

In Japan:

The protections in place for volunteers at the Olympics aren't impressive: tinyurl.com/4thukn8m. But the International Olympic Committee is determined to press ahead: tinyurl.com/ynmzvrb4. Six people involved with the Olympic torch relay are diagnosed with COVID-19: tinyurl.com/an323aex. The world's oldest person -- she's 118 -- pulls out of the Olympic torch relay, out of fear of infection: tinyurl.com/y2s2ehw8. The government extends its emergency order until the end of May, further endangering the Olympics: tinyurl.com/5hd7ztuw.

In the UK:

Clubbing returns to Liverpool, for a test run featuring 5,000 guests: tinyurl.com/4ubykax2.

The government invests in fast-tracking vaccines to stay one step ahead of the variants: tinyurl.com/kz7z57sw.

In a development that might not have happened but for the pandemic, London's Young Vic announces it will livestream all its future productions: tinyurl.com/wn7pv686.

Education:

New webinar from Green Hippo: See It and Build It with Visualizer and TimelinePlus, May 12 at 10am ET; register at tinyurl.com/275p9br4.

Entertainment:

Premiering on May 9 at 3pm ET is a new film adaptation of Alvin Ailey's signature dance piece Cry, adapted by Jacqueline Green: tinyurl.com/ttz3cs6p.

From Boston Symphony, available May 13, at noon through June 12: An encore presentation of Boston Pops in Love features classic musical selections inspired by love and romance -- Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy along with Broadway favorites and John Williams' film music led by Keith Lockhart -- as well as dance performances from the inventive Boston-based companies Hybridmotion, Lakaï Dance Theatre, and Subject:Matter and a virtual performance by the Melody in Motion Ensemble from Boston Arts Academy: WWW.BSO.ORG/NOW.

More from Boston Symphony: Available for viewing through May 15: Andris Nelsons conducts the BSO in Brahms' Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16, and Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120; chamber music performance features Marti Epstein's Komorebi, with BSO musicians John Ferrillo, oboe; William R. Hudgins, clarinet; and Elita Kang, violin: WWW.BSO.ORG/NOW.

Keen Company brings back The Year of Magical Thinking adapted from Joan Didion's best-selling memoir and starring Kathleen Chalfant. The video-on-demand revival of the original livestream is available Thursday May 13 at 9am ET to Sunday May 16 at midnight ET: www.keencompany.org.

LA Theatre Works streams Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, featuring Brian Bedford's acclaimed performance as Lady Bracknell. The cast includes Santino Fontana, David Furr, Charlotte Parry, Dana Ivey, and Paxton Whitehead. Tickets are $15: tinyurl.com/2j5hht79.

Beginning May 13 at 7pm Tales from the Wings: A Lincoln Center Theater Celebration!, a virtual gala, will look back at the theatre's iconic productions and stars, including Patti LuPone/Anything Goes; Audra McDonald/Carousel; Rosemary Harris/A Delicate Balance; Steven Pasquale/A Man of No Importance; Paulo Szot/South Pacific; Seth Numrich/War Horse; Ruthie Ann Miles/The King and I; Bartlett Sher/Oslo; and Jordan Donica/My Fair Lady. The stream is free. Donations accepted. Register at lct.org/gala.

Metropolitan Playhouse presents a free livestreamed reading, with a talkback to follow: Trifles by Susan Glaspell. It runs May 8 at 8pm ET through May 12 at 10pm ET. Running time is one hour. www.MetropolitanPlayhouse.org/watchtrifles.

Roundabout Theatre Company streams I Gotta Home, a 1940 work by Shirley Graham DuBois, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, May 7 - 10. The cast includes Jacob Ming-Trent, Ray Anthony Thomas, and Keith Randolph Smith. The reading is free: tinyurl.com/3y3hh3p7.

Symphony Space hosts a gala on May 13 at 7pm. The cast includes Kate Baldwin, Britney Coleman, Nikki Renée Daniels, Jason Gotay, Laura Osnes, Sally Wilfert, and Tony Yazbeck. Also featured is the world premiere of a new dance work by Sara Brians. Tickets start at $35: tinyurl.com/za374dn.

Working Theater presents Missing Them -- a living public memorial to those lost to COVID-19, adapted and developed by Reza Salazar and Anjali Tsui, May 8 and 9. Tickets are available on a sliding scale, and a portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated directly to support the continued work of THE CITY's MISSING THEM project: theworkingtheater.org/events/missing-them/.

And now for something completely different:

Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, created by the folks behind the hit Broadway show, is offering online adult classes in freestyle performance this summer. If you want to get back into fighting trim, check out the program at fls.academy/.

Weekend playlist:

Adrienne Warren of Broadway's Tina, takes on "Before the Parade Passes By," from Hello, Dolly!: tinyurl.com/3p3se6xn.

Patti LuPone offers a thoughtful take on Stephen Sondheim's "Anyone Can Whistle:" tinyurl.com/t3jr2fdd.

Derek Klena in a pop arrangement of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Younger than Springtime:" tinyurl.com/32pryx99.

Laura Benanti offers the Stephen Sondheim rarity, "I Remember:" tinyurl.com/vu4mc2zy.

Gavin Creel in a new, unplugged take on Sara Bareilles' "She Used to Be Mine," from Waitress: tinyurl.com/xrz5j5yp.

That's all for the week. Have a great weekend. Stay safe. Vaccinate.

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