COVID-19 Update, January 29, 2021: The Industry Leans In

COVID-19 Update, January 29, 2021: The Industry Leans In Events are moving quickly, as the Biden Administration ramps up the vaccination process and introduces its pandemic relief bill. Meanwhile, the live events industry takes action, offering to be provide infrastructure and assistance in getting people vaccinated nationwide. Will the government take the industry up on the offer? Also happening is a renewed push for pandemic relief by the association Save Live Events Now. Stay tuned for further developments.

The latest:

The US hits 25 million COVID-19 cases; by the time you read this, the world will be well past 100 million cases: tinyurl.com/y58phme9. Two in five Americans live in areas where ICUs are stressed by the sheer numbers of COVID-19 patients: tinyurl.com/y2kyd5j8.

President Biden now aims to get 1.5 million Americans vaccinated each day, a 50% increase from the previous goal: tinyurl.com/y4zxt7wa. He also plans to buy 200 million additional doses of vaccine, bringing the total to 600 million by the summer: tinyurl.com/y5xmjesc.

It looks like Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill will happen, with or without the support of the GOP: tinyurl.com/y28x2cue.

Dr. Anthony Fauci asserts that vaccines will be widely available by spring, saying it will be "open season" in April: tinyurl.com/yyn4euo4.

The more the merrier: Novavax says its vaccine has proven to be 89% effective in UK trials: tinyurl.com/y2a8fbuo.

The results are in on the trials of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and there's good news and bad news: tinyurl.com/y2opng28.

The EU approves use of the AstraZeneca vaccine: tinyurl.com/y4fdatvu.

Scientists are working to make vaccines more efficient in dealing with coronavirus variants: tinyurl.com/y667s9jp.

The CDC finds negligible COVID-19 spread at schools that take the right precautions: tinyurl.com/y2t4q6wy.

The practice of reusing protective medical gear is facilitating the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, leaving patients vulnerable to other infections: tinyurl.com/5shqlnuz .

The UK and the EU fall into fighting each other for access to vaccines: tinyurl.com/156alkze.

Fourth-quarter GDP in the US hits a lower-than-expected 4%: tinyurl.com/y55zxt74.

New unemployment claims reach a slightly better-than-expected 847,000: tinyurl.com/yxclvgz2.

The latest trend is double-masking: tinyurl.com/y2fj4het.

Food for thought:

New research indicates that the pandemic-related unemployment crisis wasn't caused by state shutdowns; among other things, people started staying home before the fact: tinyurl.com/y4kqub36.

Do curfews slow transmission of the coronavirus? Maybe: tinyurl.com/y3tvst66.

Broken rules, racial taunts, and a mob mentality; the sheer hell of being flight attendant in the pandemic: tinyurl.com/y4kvnxac.

Some COVID-19 patients develop antibodies that attack their own tissue: tinyurl.com/y2rz44gt.

Around the country:

In California:

The state reverses its stay-at-home orders as the number of new cases drops: tinyurl.com/y4clya9b.

Disney delays the release of several feature films: tinyurl.com/y65l8exe.

The release of the film A Quiet Place 2 has been postponed until September 17: tinyurl.com/yyhhr4s6.

Warner Bros., which in 2021 is committed to hybrid releases in theatres and on HBO Max, delays Baz Lurhmann's untitled Elvis Presley biopic to June 2022, meaning it will launch solely in theatres: tinyurl.com/y5bywpk6.

Carnival Cruise Lines, struggling with pandemic-caused losses, delays its plan to return to San Diego at least until 2023: tinyurl.com/1b2femuz.

Of course, filming in LA hit an all-time low: tinyurl.com/18z4gqyt .

How false confidence and, later, fatigue, led to the current out-of-control outbreak: tinyurl.com/y6xtobyt.

In Florida:

A more-contagious variant of the coronavirus is circulating in 19 counties: tinyurl.com/y43fbev.

State health officials have wasted more than 3,300 doses of vaccines: tinyurl.com/y66rgoh4.

The 2021 Ultra Musical Festival is canceled; the organizers are aiming for March 25 - 27, 2022: tinyurl.com/y3rcyucf.

The Darden Restaurants chain, which includes the Olive Garden, will pay its hourly employees to get vaccinated: tinyurl.com/y5bjm8kf.

Florida International University and The Miami Heat are using COVID-sniffing dogs to keep their events safe: tinyurl.com/y2v4jn9c.

Universal Orlando theme parks are breaking even: tinyurl.com/yxcsl5ao.

In Georgia:

Alliance Theatre will offer a series of performances in a tent on Atlanta's Woodruff Plaza: tinyurl.com/y5ojvmjc.

In Illinois:

Indoor dining, with restrictions, is back in Chicago and suburban Cook County: tinyurl.com/y5gssqdg.

In Kansas:

The AMC cinema chain raises an additional $917 million in equity to see it through this "dark, coronavirus-impacted winter:" tinyurl.com/y5ucxgjz.

In Louisiana:

A wrestling tournament in Gonzales becomes a super-spreader event, infecting at least two with COVID-19:tinyurl.com/y5cna8jn.

With the pandemic scotching the Mardi Gras this year, the resourceful citizens of New Orleans are turning their houses into floats: tinyurl.com/1udwydk5.

In Massachusetts:

On February 1, Boston moves into phase three of reopening, which allows gyms, museums, cinemas to open, among other venues: tinyurl.com/yypyc4l4 .

In New York:

Good Morning America anchor Michael Strahan tests positive for COVID-19: tinyurl.com/lbdgpr1r .

In North Carolina:

In Lenoir, a temporary field hospital helps take the stress of the local hospital: tinyurl.com/yxz8rwc3.

In Ohio:

Cincinnati's theatre producers and presenters discuss their reopening plans: tinyurl.com/y277rzng.

In Oregon:

IATSE charges that the NBA's Portland Trailblazers are using the pandemic to break the union: tinyurl.com/y42ynjmt.

In South Carolina:

The South African variant of the coronavirus is found in the state: tinyurl.com/yympenfx.

Around the world:

In Brazil:

A public health disaster explodes in the state of Amazonas: tinyurl.com/yxb3q63j.

A second wave devastates the state of Sao Paulo: tinyurl.com/y56sybb6.

In China:

The state media spreads conspiracy theories, working to undermine confidence in the Pfizer vaccine: tinyurl.com/y6jy68fd.

In France:

It's official: The Cannes Film Festival will move its dates, running July 6 - 17: tinyurl.com/4wxhzfks .

In Hong Kong:

The city's Kowloon district is put under lockdown: tinyurl.com/y5haxmex.

In Israel:

Passenger flights in and out of the country are banned: tinyurl.com/y5kvj2rs.

In Lebanon:

Hospital beds are scarce, medical gear is running out, and doctors and nurses are pushed to the point of exhaustion: tinyurl.com/y4lldwqf.

In Luxembourg:

Another experimental concert will explore the viability of returning to live performances: tinyurl.com/y5b73bgf.

In the Netherlands:

Nights of unrest in several cities, as young people riot against the country's lockdown: tinyurl.com/yyxvtslm.

In Mexico:

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tests positive for COVID-19: tinyurl.com/y4ym8lwc.

In South Africa:

President Cyril Ramaphosa accuses developed nations of hoarding vaccines, calls for a more open approach: tinyurl.com/y47tbtso.

In the UK:

The country passes the 100,000-death mark: tinyurl.com/3cpctdeq. That's more Britons than died in World War II: tinyurl.com/1xux5ehr.

Lockdown will remain in place until at least March 8: tinyurl.com/y2fgwfaa.

The vaccine rollout is moving swiftly, becoming arguably the most successful in Europe: tinyurl.com/yxh78cny.

The country's largest workplace COVID-19 outbreak happens at a government agency, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea: tinyurl.com/yxutqvsk.

Losses:

Choreographer Juan Carlos Copes: tinyurl.com/j33dpp9g

Rémy Julienne, stunt man in over 200 films, including six James Bond thrillers: tinyurl.com/y6bffjao.

Broadcasting giant Larry King: tinyurl.com/y4bst7g5.

Sportswriter and NBA TV anchor Sekou Smith: www.thewrap.com/sekou-smith-nba-dies/.

Horror film icon Barbara Shelley: tinyurl.com/y5w7r2de.

Mobilization:

A coalition of industry companies, unions, and associations comes together, offering assistance to the government in providing infrastructure for vaccine distribution: tinyurl.com/5gytdtby.As part of the initiative, The Broadway League offers its theatres, staff, and ticketing systems to aid in vaccination: tinyurl.com/ommx4zxp.

COVAID is the live events industry's vehicle for speeding up vaccinations: tinyurl.com/y4klbycv.

The new association Save Live Events Now presses Congress on pandemic relief: tinyurl.com/y39fkurs.

Education:

Join hosts Alistair Smyth and Frederik Afif on an Elation Coffee Break as they examine three modern-day ellipsoidals from Elation Professional. With the WW Profile HP and CW Profile HP, the traditional tungsten Leko has been re-engineered from the ground up with efficient LED engines, while the Fuze Profile CW takes the evolution even further with more features and fully automated performance. The episode will air live on February 4 at 11am CEST. Tune in at www.facebook.com/ELATION.Pro.Europe/live/, where you can also access previous episodes.

Episode 32 of 4Wall Entertainment's Sunday Roundtable welcomes designers Brian MacDevitt (The Music Man, The Book of Mormon, Tony and Drama Desk Winner), Amith Chandrashaker (Fairview, Boseman and Lena, Drama Desk Winner), Emily Bornt (Lil Wayne, Dancing with the Stars Live), and Allen Branton (Hairspray Live, iHeart Radio Music Awards, Emmy Winner). They join hosts Drew Quinones and Jeff Croiter to discuss their influences, design process, what excites them about what they do, thoughts about the industry in 2021, and more. It streams January 31 at 7pm EST on 4Wall's Facebook Live and YouTube pages, and will remain available afterwards. Facebook: bit.ly/4Wall-Sunday-Roundtable-Ep-32-FB.

YouTube: bit.ly/4Wall-Sunday-Roundtable-Ep-32-YT

Entertainment:

Center Theatre Group presents a reading of Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue, a new play by Kemp Powers, author of the new film One Night in Miami: tinyurl.com/y3w64tus.

Simply Sondheim, a review of Stephen Sondheim songs, streams February 2 - March 28. The cast includes Norm Lewis, Solea Pfeiffer, Conrad Ricamora, and Emily Skinner, among others: tinyurl.com/1uz6hl7u .

S. Epatha Merkerson, Sharon Washington, and Lillis White star in the reading of While I Yet Live, by Billy Porter, February 6 - 10: https://tinyurl.com/152uponb .

Weekend Playlist:

Time to fill up on Mason William's "Classical Gas," most recently revived in The Queen's Gambit: tinyurl.com/m5x6x7c.

Leslie Odom Jr. performs "Speak Now," from the new film One Night in Miami, in which he plays singing star Sam Cooke: tinyurl.com/y29lvrmk.

A collection of Broadway performers offer "Make Our Garden Grow," by Leonard Bernstein and Richard Wilbur, from the musical Candide: tinyurl.com/4pa63zwa.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs "Deeper Than Dreams," from Wynton Marsalis' The Democracy Project: tinyurl.com/1aai0zal.

Jon Batiste and company dance up a storm in "I Need You:" tinyurl.com/y5l3anw6.

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend. Stay safe. -DB

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