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Country singer Chase Rice has defied a new coronavirus spike in the US to play a show for thousands of fans in Tennessee, with some appearing to ignore social distancing guidelines.
Rice performed for fans on Saturday night (June 27) at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a former prison which has been converted into an event centre.
Despite social distancing guidelines being in place, videos posted on Rice’s Instagram story showed fans packed tightly into the venue, without wearing face masks.
According to TMZ, the venue has a capacity of 10,000, but only 1000 people eventually attended the show after its capacity was cut to just 4000.
Chase Rice just played a concert to an enormous crowd of unmasked fans here in Tennessee. For once, I am at a loss for words. pic.twitter.com/wB47u1EaFd
— Lorie Liebig (@lorieliebig) June 28, 2020
The show marked the start of Rice’s tour at venues which have been chosen for their social distancing capabilities, with further dates set to follow in states such as Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia.
It comes after Tennessee became one of several states that have seen a notable rise in coronavirus cases across the past few weeks.
The state reported its highest-ever infection count on Friday with 1,410.
Nearly 600 people have died from the coronavirus in the state, including 10 reported on Friday.
On Saturday, the US also recorded more than 42,000 new cases of COVID-19, the largest single-day increase of the pandemic.
It was previously warned that gigs and festivals may not fully return until autumn 2021.
In a recent roundtable discussion, bioethicist and professor of healthcare management Zeke Emanuel says he has “no idea” how promoters that are rescheduling arts and music events for later this year “think that’s a plausible possibility”.
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