The Grammy Awards ceremony for this year has been delayed due to excessive caution following the US record 869,187 COVID case on Tuesday. Despite relatively low virus deaths, however, it is still a significant milestone in American music history.
CBS and the Recording Academy confirmed Wednesday that the 64th Annual Awards ceremony will be postponed due to an Omicron surge-related rise in COVID cases.
The official announcement stated that the Recording Academy (CBS) and CBS had postponed the 64th Annual Grammy Awards Show after careful analysis and consideration with officials from the city and state, as well as health and safety specialists, artists and other partners.
CBS and the Recording Academy confirmed that the 64th Annual Awards Ceremony would have to be “postponed” due to increasing COVID cases.
Trevor Noah, comedian (pictured), hosted the ceremony last year. He is scheduled to host this years’ ceremony.
The official announcement stated that the Recording Academy (CBS) and CBS had postponed the 64th Grammy Awards after careful analysis and discussion with officials from the city and state, as well as health and safety specialists, artists and other partners.
It continued, “The safety and well-being of the members of our musical community and our live audience as well as the many people involved in producing our show are our primary priorities.”
“Given all the uncertainties surrounding Omicron variants, the idea of holding the show on the 31st January is simply too risky. Music’s Greatest Night will continue to be celebrated at a later date. Details of that event will soon be made public.
This announcement is made one day after 869,187 cases were recorded in the United States, a decrease from Monday’s record of more than one-million COVID-19 case records in 24 hours.
The country’s 7-day rolling average number of new cases was 565,042. This is a 114 per cent increase over a week earlier, according to DailyMail.com’s analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
The number of deaths is still relatively low with 2384 deaths occurring on Tuesday. This represents a 13 percent decline from the week before. Although hospitalizations have been increasing, they are still well below the peak in January.
Although the Omicron variant is more easily transmissible, it appears to be milder among those who have been vaccinated, experts warn that the spike in cases could end up being a temporary phenomenon and will soon recede.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Center for Disease Control, confirmed Wednesday that Omicron now accounts for 95% and Delta for the remaining 5%.
She stated that the sharp increase in Omicron-related cases, as well as the appearance of the transmissible Omicron variant underscores the need for boosters and vaccinations.
In a Tuesday address to the nation, President Joe Biden again blamed people who refuse to be vaccinated.
President Obama stressed that vaccinations, booster shots and the use of therapeutic drugs are helping to reduce the risk for Americans who have been fully vaccinated.
‘You can still get COVID, but it’s highly unlikely, very unlikely, that you´ll become seriously ill,’ Biden said of vaccinated people.
He stated, “There is no reason, there is no excuse to be unvaccinated,” There is still an epidemic of unvaccinated people. For maximum protection, he encouraged Americans to receive a booster shot of vaccines.
The biggest night of music has been affected by the surge. It was initially scheduled to take place in person at the Crypto.com Arena located in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday, 31 January.
Mirror’s Grammys of last year were postponed after the ceremony was moved from January 31st 2021 to March 14th 2021 because of Covid-related concerns. They were held outdoors at Los Angeles Convention Center.
Trevor Noah was the host last year, and he will again be this year’s host.
Fans expressed their disappointment, but they also said that it was the right decision.
One person said, “I don’t watch those shows but it’s good for the health of our citizens,” in a tweet.
One person also tweeted, “Sad news for the artists. But very happy they won’t be placed in a potentially hazardous situation.”
‘Tbh if it’s for the health and safety of everyone I say go for it… I don’t want it to be postponed but I understand,’ another person tweeted.
Although no nominees have been named yet for this year’s award, Nominations were announced on November 23, 2021.
Jon Batiste, composer and musician, topped all nominators with 11 nominations. Justin Bieber and Doja Cat were third and fourth respectively. Billie Eilish scored eight, while Olivia Rodrigo was tied for seventh with seven.
Reunited Swedish pop band ABBA received their first Grammy nomination for ‘I Still Have Faith In You,’ which was in the Record Of The Year category.
Both Lil Nas X and Brandi Carlile got an impressive five nominations each, while Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s group Silk Sonic received four.