Coronavirus: Vanilla Ice concert on July 4 sparks viral concerns over COVID-19 spread
The rapper Vanilla Ice's decision to hold a concert for thousands in Texas despite a jump in coronavirus cases across the US has sparked criticism and comment online.
Texas is one of the new hotspots for COVID-19 in the US, which reported a nationwide jump of 50,000 cases in a single day on Thursday.
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But despite the jump in cases, Vanilla Ice has announced he will be performing for 2,500 people at an "Independence Day Throwback Beach Party" in Austin, Texas.
The planned concert exploits a legal loophole in a state where bars and concerts are banned to avoid further spread of the virus, which travels easily between people in large crowds.
According to the Austin Chronicle, the Emerald Point Bar & Grill at Lake Travis is characterized as a restaurant because over half of its sales are food, allowing it to avoid the ban on bars. The venue will operating at 50 percent capacity.
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Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, rose to fame in the 1990s with his hits "Ice Ice Baby" and "Play That Funky Music."
“I can’t wait to get back to this. The 90s were the best. We didn’t have coronavirus, or cell phones, or computers. We had 5.0's, blockbuster, Beavis and Butthead, Wayne's World, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan ... Mortal Kombat is still better than Fortnight ... the last of the great decades,” the rapper tweeted.
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Social media users voiced concern at the potential spread caused by the concert.
Others poked fun at Vanilla Ice still being able to attract crowds in 2020.
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