KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Thousands of fans plan to welcome one of country music’s biggest stars to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City this weekend. More than 60,000 people are expected to be cheering when Garth Brooks takes the stage Saturday night.
While the Kansas City Chiefs recommend masks for anyone attending the concert who isn’t vaccinated, masks are not required inside the stadium, even with Kansas City’s mask mandate. Arrowhead is considered an outdoor facility, and the city’s emergency order only mandates masks indoors.
But the anticipated lack of masks at the popular concert concerns some Kansas City doctors.
“Here’s my personal preference: If you’re in a really big public space like that, with a whole lot of people, I think I’m gonna wear a mask there,” said Dr. Steve Stites, Chief Medical Officer at KU Health System.
Stites also pointed out that the concert is outdoors and believes it’s the one promising aspect from a safety standpoint. Dr. Dana Hawkinson, Infection Prevention Medical Director at KU Health System, agreed.
“Unless there is a pit area where there is no specific seat but you are all crammed together, I think you’re a little denser at this point in time, you’re a little bit closer together, probably easier to spread,” Hawkinson said. “But I would think areas such as seats or the walkways or things of that nature, you’re probably gonna be safe, just understand that situation around you.”
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, Infection Prevention Medical Director at KU Health System, August 2021
According to the Chiefs’ website, workers will sanitize high-touch areas before and during the concert. There will also be hand sanitizer available throughout the stadium.
One thing that some might not be aware of is the State of Kansas still requires people to quarantine if they are not vaccinated, but are attending a mass gathering out of state where masks and social distancing are not practiced.
The Garth Brooks concert at Arrowhead, in neighboring Missouri, meets those quarantine requirements.
The Chiefs and Kansas City, Missouri Health Department plan to hold a vaccination clinic Saturday before the concert begins. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted that he expects anyone vaccinated at Saturday’s clinic to have a chance to win seat upgrades in a raffle.