Despite social distancing guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say people in large gatherings should wear face masks and attempt to stay at least six feet apart, there are hundreds of black plastic folding seats linked together with plastic ties at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial amphitheater, where President Trump is expected to attend, speak and view a fireworks show tonight.
“Folding chairs at an event like these need to be zip tied together by code, per a public safety official involved with the event,” a public safety official tells CNN. “In case of an emergency, like a fire event or a storm or anything that would cause people to quickly move out, the zip ties would ensure that the chairs will not be easily knocked over or fly into egress paths — moving a full row of chairs, rather than one or two. Additionally, the zip tied chairs then cannot be used as a weapon.”
A majority of the attendees at the venue arriving so far have not been wearing face coverings.
There is also bleacher seating in the venue which means many spectators at the event will not have to sit in seats that are linked together.
Some background: The 7,500 tickets for the event are lower than the typical visitor flow during the busy summer season. On normal days, 28,000 to 32,000 visitors come to Mount Rushmore during a 10-hour period. Amid the pandemic, the park never closed but visitation has been down to around 20,000 people, said Maureen McGee-Ballinger, Mount Rushmore’s chief of interpretation and education.
Coronavirus cases in South Dakota currently remain stable, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with 6,893 confirmed cases and 97 deaths as of Thursday — but it remains to be seen how many attendees will travel from other states. Thirty-six states are currently experiencing a rise in new cases.
WATCH:
