As Eagles Fans Prep For Home Opener, Experts Urge COVID Safety Measures
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As Philadelphia Eagles fans prepare to celebrate this weekend's home opener, high levels of COVID have some experts worried about the possibility of a super spreader event. That may depend on how you watch the game.
Sunday marks the first time since January 2020 there will be 67,000 fans back in the stadium. Some of the precautions, however, are still present.
Masks are required inside the stadium, including elevators and bathrooms. Face coverings aren't required outside, but Dr. Cheryl Bettigole told CBS3 it's something she recommends.
"If you don't know the people right there around you, you may want to put that mask on," the city's acting health commissioner said.
Dr. Bettigole also suggests that unvaccinated people double mask at the games. She isn't the only expert worried about the games.
"I don't think it's smart," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN.
But the games aren't where the biggest threat lies; Dr. Bettigole is keeping an eye on people watching from parties and bars.
"That's where our real risk is going to be," she said, adding, "That yelling can really expel virus far, that's particularly, again indoors, where I would get worried."
As for those attending the game, some additional changes might require some prep. Starting this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Wells Fargo Center's parking lots will not accept cash for Temple University or Eagles football games. Wells Fargo Center parking lots will accept all major credit cards and digital payments including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The specific lots that will no longer accept cash as a form of payment include Wells Fargo Center Lots A-H. In addition, Lots K, M, N and Phillies Lots (P-X) will continue to accept cash as a form of payment for parking this weekend and beyond.
This parking update will include Eagles game days and non-game days when entertainment events are being held at Lincoln Financial Field and the Wells Fargo Center.
