LA Mayor Says Large Gatherings Like Sporting Events, Concerts Will Not Be Allowed Until 2021

Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti said on CNN that it’s unlikely there will be any large gatherings like concerts or sporting events in the city until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“According to to an internal email obtained by the Los Angeles Times, I’m sure you know about this, your office said this pandemic could stop large gatherings like concerts and sporting events until 2021. Is that the case, mayor?” asked CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.

“That is,” confirmed Garcetti. “It wasn’t a secret plan that got leaked. I was asked my opinion by some of my general managers who run our large departments. But as Mayor de Blasio said, as I think Mayor Cantrell has said in New Orleans, it’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon.”

“I think we should be prepared for that this year,” he continued. “I think we all have never wanted science to work so quickly, but until there’s either a vaccine, some sort of pharmaceutical intervention, or herd immunity, the science is the science, and public health officials have been very clear we have many, many miles to walk before we’re going to be back in those environments.”

The mayor added, however, that he hopes Los Angeles residents “can watch sporting events without audiences on TV” and “of course listen to concerts as we’ve been doing,” noting, “It is so important for us, even as we’re physically distanced, to have that spiritual and social connection. Something that we’re doing very much here in Los Angeles during this.”

Later on in the interview, Garcetti again said that, “Nothing I’ve heard would indicate that we’ll be in those large, thousands-of-people gatherings anytime soon and probably not for the rest of this year.”

“Very interesting and very depressing I must say as well,” responded Blitzer. “But very realistic I suspect.”

Watch above via CNN.