Drive-Thru NIOSA? San Antonio Conservation Society Testing Ideas for a COVID-Safe Fiesta
- Instagram / fiestasa
With Fiesta 2020 still tentatively on the books for November, the organizers of NIOSA have hired epidemiologist Cherise Rohr-Allegrini to brainstorm possible options for celebrating safely.
One of the alternatives she presented to the Conservation Society of San Antonio, which runs the event, is a socially-distant, drive-thru NIOSA, the Express-News reports.
NIOSA, or A Night in Old San Antonio, is one of Fiesta’s most popular events, drawing more than 85,000 people to La Villita over the course of four nights. Partygoers have come to expect not just music, food and alcohol but thick — often immovable — crowds.
Could a drive-thru option even work?
Rohr-Allegrini — a specialist who investigates the patterns and causes of diseases in humans — thinks so, according to the daily. She’s working with NIOSA officials to create protocols that will allow for the safest and most enjoyable event.
“We could see cars lined up on Nueva and South Alamo, going down to César Chávez and even crossing through to Hemisfair,” she told the Express-News. “We’re keeping all possibilities open.”
Other suggestions included making the event entirely cashless, limiting attendance and reducing the number of food and vendor booths, the paper reports.
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