Most Americans to avoid live events until virus vaccine: poll

Until there is a proven coronavirus vaccine, a majority of Americans said they will not attend professional sporting events, live concerts and amusement parks when they reopen to the public, according to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll released on Tuesday (April 28).

Freddie Joyner has more.

As a handful of U.S. states begin to reopen their economies, most Americans are not yet ready to return to life as usual, at least when it comes to live entertainment.

A Reuters/Isos poll out Tuesday found fewer than half of Americans plan on returning to sporting events, concerts, movie theaters and amusement parks until there is a proven vaccine.

Victor Matheson, Economics Professor at College of the Holy Cross, explains why.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ECONOMICS PROFESSOR AT COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS VICTOR MATHESON SAYING: "You know, we go to games for entertainment.

It's not very entertaining if you're spending the whole time not worrying about who the next player at bat is, but instead worrying about that person who's just coughed two rows down." Only 17% of American adults said they would attend professional sporting events when they reopen to the public, while 26% said they would rather wait until there is a vaccine.

The entertainment industry isn’t faring much better.

Only 27% of those polled said that they would venture out to a movie theater, concert or live theater performance when venues reopen.

And in all, 55% of Americans said those events should not resume before a vaccine is available.

Troubling news for an entertainment industry trying to bounce back after closures.

Liability is another concern for businesses trying to reopen, says Hollywood Reporter staff writer Chris Gardner.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR STAFF WRITER, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER CHRIS GARDNER SAYING: "I think a lot of the people that I'm speaking to mention this word liability.

Who will be liable if you let somebody into the festival?

They get sick, they die.

One of their loved ones decides to file a lawsuit for negligence for any event organizer, concert promoter, Hollywood studio, who is hosting a premiere.

I mean, that's just something that needs to be considered in this day and age." The music industry and Broadway have also both suffered greatly.

Big acts like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber have cancelled tours, while huge annual music festivals like Coachella were also shut down.

Broadway theaters have been closed since mid-March, extending closures until June 7th, with several producers saying their plays would not return at all.