It’s been nearly a year since Covid-19 has disturbed the United States and stripped us even of our beloved sports. Governor of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo said that as soon as he gets approval from the Department of Health, things can resume on February 23. Here are the highlights:

• Sports franchises like the Nets, Knicks, and Rangers can have fans in their stands just as long as the number of people comprises just 10% of the venue. This is certainly the case for the bigger venues that can fit up to 10,000 or more guests.
• Attendees need to show proof of a negative P.C.R. test taken within 72 hours of the event. Remember, that the state has to approve of the venue as well. Fans will have to wear masks as well as social distance in each event. 
• Cuomo knows this is risky, but he wants to “get this economy open intelligently and in a balanced way.” The sports industry has been dealt such a tremendous blow because of the virus. This can be a good way to recover some lost revenue from fans not seeing games in-person.
• An epidemiologist from George Mason University, Saskia Popescu, said that testing will help but it won’t identify all the cases. Additionally, Dr. Popescu said, “that’s also three days in which an individual can become infectious.” 
• The new initiative would extend to concerts as well. Of course, more people have been able to attend baseball and football games because the virus spreads much faster indoors. 
• We’re already seeing 11 out of 30 NBA teams allow fans to attend games. Each team is different. For example, the New Orleans Pelicans are allowing 4 percent of fans to attend the games. The Houston Rockets allot 25 percent of fans to be in the stands. 
• John Abbamondi, the chief executive of BSE Global, the parent company of the Nets and Barclay Center, said he’s confident in executing a safe plan because the venue is rather large, and they’ll only have a small percentage of people in it. They’re going to test every patron and employee before any event. 
• This even extends to Major League Soccer, which is set to kick off April 17. The league took a serious financial downturn because of the absence of fans in many of the cities. Hopefully, this will put some much-needed light back into the league.