Thousands Attend Concert in Tennessee Without Wearing Masks or Social Distancing

Tennessee held one of its first concerts since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the live music industry, with a large crowd coming out to see country artist Chase Rice on June 27.

COVID-19 infections in the United States recently hit an all-time day-to-day high, essentially erasing all progress made in the last three months. The great majority of states have seen their cases spike, including Tennessee, which recorded its highest-ever count of new infections on June 26 — 1,140.

Still, the Chase Rice show went on as scheduled, with the 10,000-capacity venue reportedly allowing a maximum of 4,000 fans to attend. Photos of the crowd show them packed in tight with nobody wearing a mask or social distancing. The only positive is that the show was held outdoors, as outdoor transmission seems to occur at much lower rates than indoor transmission.

Chase Rice shared a video of his fans attending the show on Instagram, adding the caption “We back” with a sunglasses emoji. Following online backlash for the concert, Rice deleted the video from his IG.

According to Variety, a source told the publication that around 2,800 individuals attended the show, which nearly triples the numbers Rice's team is claiming. “I personally one saw one person wearing a mask the entire day, and that was a merch seller.” [via Vulture]

"Hospital capacity continues to remain stable statewide," Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey reports. "We remind Tennesseans that COVID-19 is still very much present in our state, and we strongly encourage them to be vigilant in maintaining social distancing, frequent hand-washing and utilizing face coverings.”