BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – It remains unlikely that any fans will be allowed to watch the Buffalo Bills game in person any time soon.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the Western New York's coronavirus positive test rate remains problematic.
"I would love to do it," Cuomo said Monday. "I know Western New York would love to do it...I'm looking at the drawings in the stadium myself...We're working on it and there's no final decision."
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz had little to say about fans coming back to the stadium during his news conference on Wednesday.
"At this point, until the state says it's going to be allowed, it's not allowed," Poloncarz said.
[shortcode-inline-related expand="1" link="/wben/news/local/not-good-erie-county-registers-5-covid-19-positivity-rate" headline=""Not good" Erie County registers 5% COVID-19 positivity rate" image="/media-library/image.jpg?id=63618862"]Dr. Thomas Russo from Jacobs School of Medicine in Buffalo told WBEN last month that social distancing at the stadium is possible but has concerns about concession stands. Poloncarz echoed the concerns.
"It's going into concessions, using the restrooms," Poloncarz said. "How do you clean the restrooms between use? Even limited fans.
What if somebody is sick and they use the facility? It's in the state's hands and right now they don't feel comfortable. To tell you the truth, when we have 5 percent testing rate, where we've had 3 percent over the recent days. That's bad. It's not good. I'm not happy about it. None of us are happy about it. As long as the numbers are going up there's not going to be fans in the stadium."
We asked Poloncarz if there are places in Erie County that are deemed "safer" than an outdoor stadium but did not get a direct answer.
Cuomo said the state is studying what is happening with fans in the stands for other teams around the league. 18 of the 32 teams in the NFL have allowed fans into the stadium.
