NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The Radio City Rockettes canceled all four of its “Christmas Spectacular” shows on Friday because of breakthrough COVID-19 cases.
“We regret to announce that the four shows scheduled for today, Friday, Dec. 17 have been canceled due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases in the production,” the dance company said in a statement.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, and will make announcements about future shows as soon as possible,” the statement continues.
The shows were scheduled for 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The group said all tickets will be refunded at the original point of purchase.
A number of Broadway shows have also canceled or postponed performances over the past week due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases in their vaccinated casts and crews. Among them are “Hamilton,” “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” and “Ain’t Too Proud.”
The cancellations come as local officials sound the alarm about a rising number of cases in the New York area. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the omicron variant is “in full force” and spreading in the city. Dr. Jay Varma, who has advised the mayor on his pandemic response, noted that the city’s positivity rate nearly doubled in three days, tweeting, “we’ve never seen this before.”
While only a few cases of omicron have been confirmed so far in the five boroughs, federal health officials are estimating that it already accounts for around 13% of virus cases in the region that includes New York and New Jersey.
New York state reported nearly 18,300 new cases of the virus Wednesday, the third highest total for any single day since COVID-19 tests became widely available to the public in the spring of 2020.
Nearly 83,000 people have tested positive statewide in the seven-day period that ended Wednesday, the most for any such period since last January.
While there are many unknowns about omicron, the World Health Organization says it’s spreading faster than any other variant to date.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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