Duke’s ban on food, beverages at Cameron will continue ‘for the foreseeable future’
The suspension of food and beverage service at Cameron Indoor Stadium during basketball games will continue with no set end date established.
The school announced Tuesday the practice, implemented last month due to rising COVID-19 cases, will continue “for the foreseeable future.”
“For basketball home games,” a Duke statement said, “no concessions will be available and food and beverage options will continue to be suspended in all hospitality areas. This is consistent with the university’s current protocols to reduce the risk of COVID transmission during the current surge of the Omicron variant.”
Duke already has a mask mandate in place for anyone inside the arena for both men’s and women’s basketball games. Last fall, the school also established rules stipulating anyone attending events must either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the event they are attending.
Because eating and drinking provide situations for people to temporarily remove their masks, the school cut out concession services on Jan. 7. At the time, the rule was set to expire on Jan. 21. It was extended through Sunday and, on Tuesday, extended again.
The move comes on the day the state reported a new record high of 5,055 people currently hospitalized due to COVID-19. The percent of tests coming back positive is 36.4%, well beyond state health officials’ goal of 5% or less.
On Duke’s campus, the percent of tests showing positive results from Jan. 17-23 was 4.98%. In results released on Monday, the school reported 533 active COVID-19 cases.
Duke’s men’s basketball team plays Clemson Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium while the Blue Devils’ women’s team will play North Carolina on Thursday night at Cameron.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Duke’s ban on food, beverages at Cameron will continue ‘for the foreseeable future’."