Health Department revokes Royal Grove event plan following weekend concert

LINCOLN, Neb. (Press Release) - The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) has revoked the Royal Grove’s event plan after receiving information about a concert at the venue. Health Director Pat Lopez said LLCHD received numerous complaints about the Sada Baby concert on Saturday, November 7, and photos from the event show numerous violations of the local Directed Health Measure. The Royal Grove will not be able to hold events without LLCHD’s approval of a new event plan. The City Attorney’s office is considering legal action.

Lopez said the photos show that dozens of patrons were very close together, not social distancing and not wearing masks. They also were not seated at tables in groups of eight or less and at least six feet apart.

“Having an event plan is important, but ensuring your patrons comply with that plan is essential to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in our community,” Lopez said. “The concert at the Royal Grove last Saturday clearly had the potential to be a ‘super spreader’ event leading to a very large number of cases of COVID-19. Our health systems are seriously stressed right now and are caring for more COVID-19 patients than ever before. Activities like this are simply not acceptable at this time and impact our whole community.”

In a Facebook post Monday, The Royal Grove said it had a plan in place but the amount of staffing compared to those in attendance made it hard for employees to enforce.

During Saturday’s event, our staff had a very difficult time enforcing these guidelines. Despite our best efforts, due to the excitement and energy levels of the event, it was overwhelming to our staff of 22 to enforce these mandates to a crowd of 500 (which is 50% of our “normal” venue capacity, in alignment with the capacity restrictions as of Saturday in the state of Nebraska).
The Royal Grove

The Royal Grove posted on its Facebook page prior to Saturday’s sold out event to make attendees aware of the health and safety guidelines.

LLCHD strongly urges all those who attended the event to self-quarantine for 14 days to protect others. Those who develop COVID-19 symptoms are also urged to get tested.

The COVID-19 Risk Dial is now in the red position. The red dial position indicates a severe risk of the virus spreading. Residents are advised to stay home unless traveling for work, school, food or medical care or to check on others who may need assistance.

For more information, visit COVID19.lincoln.ne.gov or call the Health Department hotline at 402-441-8006.