Pomp and masks: Graduations draw thousands despite pandemic

Thousands of graduates, parents, siblings and grandparents were invited to a nearly 11,000-seat stadium on Wednesday and Thursday nights in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, where two high schools among the largest in Alabama were organizing traditional commencement exercises despite COVID-19.

Two schools in nearby cities held their ceremonies Tuesday, with chairs for more than 540 graduates spread apart across a football field at Thompson High and a keynote address by the state school superintendent. Few wore protective face masks, and seniors hugged and gathered in tight groups for pictures.

Dr. Michael Saag, who treats infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the coronavirus poses too great a risk for such ceremonies since virus carriers without symptoms could unknowingly infect others.

Saag himself became infected in March.

via apnews.com

Somebody should track this and see if anybody gets sick.