About a quarter of Americans are planning to host or attend Super Bowl parties, despite warnings from public health officials to avoid mixed household gatherings due to COVID-19, according to two new surveys.
The National Retail Confederation surveyed 7,882 U.S. adults Jan. 4-12. Thirteen percent of respondents said they plan to throw a Super Bowl party to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Kansas City Chiefs. Another 12 percent said they plan to attend a party, while 3 percent said they'd watch at a bar or restaurant.
South Orange, N.J.-based Seton Hall University conducted a similar survey of 885 adults and found 25 percent said they planned to gather with people from outside their homes to watch the game.
While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are falling nationally, some public health officials have expressed concerns that Super Bowl gatherings, which often unite people from several households, could become superspreader events, reports The New York Times.
"It will be tragic if the Super Bowl becomes a superspreader of coronavirus," Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, PhD, told the Los Angeles Times. She said celebrations linked to the NBA Finals were likely a contributing factor to the deadly surge in cases the county faced this winter.
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