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Wow!!! I am really, really excited. Since Indiana is totally unable to control the pandemic now, it will definitely be unable to deal with it by the time the tournament begins. If we start now, it will give the City enough time to build a bunch of new portable hospitals just like the Chinese did. We need the construction jobs, you know. Sports, are one of the more important economic drivers for our State. Oh and by the time of the first tip off, we will still not have enough of our local citizens vaccinated, so we can be the ultimate Midwest epicenter for the pandemic by early May. New York had first honors, and now California is taking center stage. The Midwest should not be forgotten. Indiana will lead the way, but we have a lot of work to do. Everyone, who comes in from out of state for the tournament, will provide the additional cases of COVID if native Hoosiers do not have enough COVID to keep our streak going. If necessary, we could import the UK strain or the one from South Africa. City planners may need to consider this as a serious Plan B. However, I think that Hoosiers coming back from their recent holiday trips, will be able to bring back enough cases of COVID and not need any outside help. Souvenir masks, with “MARCH MADNESS 2021” on the front, may provide an eerie and ominous reminder when the final games are over, the outsiders have left town, and our local healthcare systems have become overwhelmed.
Look, I’ve taken this pandemic as seriously as most since the beginning. I’m disgusted by people who flout the rules and show no concern for the safety of those around them. But this response is just so hyperbolic and negative it’s ridiculous.
The NCAA and downtown hotels are trying to create a safe environment for these student athletes to compete. We need ideas for how to make gatherings and events like this possible. We’ve tried keeping everything shut down and it does not work. People don’t comply, the government provides no support, and the mental health and spiritual well being of our nation has suffered because of it.
As vaccines are rolling out we are beginning to see the end of this stage of the Pandemic.Anyone who is trying to think forward and find new ways of re-entering the world gets my support.
Maybe if there had been any sort of coordinated effort by our government to provide actual support to PEOPLE we wouldn’t be here today. But hindsight is 2020 (Ha) and the needless fearmongering needs to end.
Joseph W…Please take a look at the “previous notable NCAA basketball games from Nov 25 to present” that have been canceled or postponed due to + Covid tests. It’s a long one. And ALL Indiana counties are presently in the red or orange zone with most of the positive cases being in Marion County as well as most of the deaths. Statewide, Indiana has now exceeded 8,400 deaths. Indiana is still at work getting health care workers vaccinated . They will move on to those over 80 yrs of age on Friday. If you seriously believe that the vaccine roll out has been a success and that we will see the end stage of the pandemic in March you are living in a “bubble” yourself. Just because you want it to be true, Joseph W, doesn’t mean that it is. People such as yourself need to stop calling it “needless fear mongering”. You are part of the problem and why Covid continues to rage in this state…https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-games-affected-by-covid-19-oregon-state-goes-on-pause-postpones-games-vs-utah-colorado/
Phillip T……assigning these games to a state whose counties are all currently all in red or orange covid zones is March Madness alright. Perhaps the Governor and the NCAA will have the IN Health Dept fudge with the numbers so the entire state is not in the red/orange zone come March. I wouldn’t put it past them.
I’m more concerned with a practical question: how will the hotels, restaurants, and caterers staff themselves adequately? I’d imagine that more than a few laid-off folks found other jobs in the past year.
Chris, Thanks for the question. This is something I’m continuing to look into and report on. But you’re correct—it seems that could be a challenge.
How they will keep these workers Covid-19 free and not spreading it to others should be more of a concern.
California for the last several weeks has been leading the nation in cases and deaths even though they have been almost completely locked down. They have not had attendance at sporting events or any indoor dining since last March yet their cases are on the rise. States that have taken extreme lockdown measures on average have had the same case and death rates as those who have not locked down as tightly. Our neighbor to the west, IL, is a good example.
Most exposure seems to be due to family gatherings so you cannot automatically say that holding the tournament in Indy will lead to significant increases in our local COVID rates.
California has had 28,045 covid deaths, with a population of 39.51 million people. That’s a death rate of .07% of total population. Indiana has had 8,452 covid deaths, with a population of 6.73 million. That’s a death rate of .13% of the total population. Sorry, but you are wrong.
California has been leading in cases and deaths because it has the highest population in the nation. Same with New York and Illinois. If Indiana ever has more cases or deaths than NY, CA, or IL, there’s a serious problem in Indiana.
As disappoint as I am about the entire country not getting to enjoy games in there local area, I am sure that Indianapolis Hospitality Industry will knock it out of the park. If the collaboration is similar to the Super Bowl, lets check the box an rock and roll.