What We Can Learn From the Most Successful Covid-19 Bubbles

From a local theater group to the NBA, bubbles are increasingly proving to be an effective strategy for allowing the show to go on

Erik Ofgang
Elemental

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Illustration: Radhiah Anis

The staff at the Berkshire Theatre Group desperately wanted the show to go on.

In March, theaters across the globe began canceling their productions, but Alex James, the company manager of the rural Massachusetts theater group, says she and her co-workers were determined to find a safe way to stage a show in the summer.

One of her colleagues came across a story about how Tyler Perry Studios planned on shooting four of its shows by creating a “Covid bubble.” During production, each show’s cast and crew would quarantine at the company’s Atlanta studio complex, creating a protective pod that would hopefully ensure people wouldn’t catch Covid-19 and spread it.

This bubble idea appealed to the Berkshire Theatre team.

“We thought that for a cast of a show that would be our best bet,” James says.

Since March, various types of Covid bubbles have popped up across the globe. They have ranged from large — enclosing vast sections of countries — to small, two or three families teaming up and assuming each others’…

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Erik Ofgang
Elemental

Co-author of “The Good Vices: From Beer to Sex, the Surprising Truth About What’s Actually Good for You.” Read my other Medium stories @goodvicesbook