CDC Recommends All Events in the US With 50+ People Be Canceled

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US put out a recommendation today that all scheduled events with 50 or more people be canceled for the next eight weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Guidance as of 3/15/2020

Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.

Therefore, CDC, in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.

Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing. When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.

This recommendation does not apply to the day to day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses. This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus. This recommendation is not intended to supersede the advice of local public health officials.

This is only a recommendation and not a ban on events, but it certainly doesn’t bode well for WrestleMania 36, which would have about 65,000 people in attendance, traveling in from all over the country and the world.

A local government official in Hillsborough County, Florida said on Friday that they would “probably have to pull the plug” on WrestleMania 36 next week if WWE doesn’t do it themselves. Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller said, “I’m hoping that Vince McMahon and WrestleMania and WWE make the call themselves but a week from now, if they’ve not done that and we’re still in the situation we’re in, we’ll probably have to pull the plug on that.”

The CDC’s recommendation also likely means that Raw, SmackDown and NXT will take place in front of no crowd at the Performance Center for at least the next eight weeks, and AEW will likely have to run Daily’s Place in Jacksonville or another venue with no crowd for the same time period.