Stars heading to New York City to participate in the MTV Video Music Awards next weekend will be exempt from New York state’s coronavirus 14-day travel quarantine mandate if arriving from one of 34 states, Fox News reported.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the music stars are expected to perform at outdoors locations around NYC and on a soundstage in Los Angeles, which will be attended by either limited or no audiences during the award show’s broadcast set for August 30.
The celebrities have been granted a semi-exemption from the state’s Department of Health so that they can participate in the long-running, live awards show, the New York Post reported.
This special-exemption means the singers and their dancers and musicians won’t need to adhere to the 14-day quarantine rule put in place by Gov. Andrew Cuomo even if they are traveling to New York from one of the 34 states on the self-quarantine list, which includes California and Florida, where many of the artists have homes.
The event will be under strict supervision by the NYPD’s Movie/TV Unit to ensure that the performers and their entourages will wear face masks and practice social distancing, NYC officials told the newspaper.
“The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and Citywide Events is working in close coordination with the production to ensure guidelines are being followed,” a City Hall spokesperson told the outlet, also explaining that NYPD will be doing “compliance checks during the production.”
Cuomo’s executive order for everyone else says that whoever violates the 14-day travel quarantine order can be fined up to $10,000 or be hit with up to 15 days in jail.