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Miami Heat fans who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to sit in a special section for games beginning on April 1.<\/p>\n
The team told the Associated Press Tuesday that two sections in the lower bowl of the American Airlines Arena will be dedicated to fully vaccinated fans.<\/p>\n
The Heat is the first team to implement a vaccine section, just a week after the NBA told teams they could do these special sections in accordance with local and state health and safety guidelines, per AP.<\/p>\n
Vaccinated spectators who choose to be in those sections will have to show proof that their final vaccine was administered at least 14 days prior to the game they attend. <\/p>\n
COVID-19 precautions will still be enforced, but at a more lenient level.<\/p>\n
A rep for the Miami Heat did not immediately respond to People<\/em>'s request for comment.<\/p>\n Those fans will still have to wear masks and be brought through a separate entrance. There also will only be one seat dividing groups, as opposed to several seats that socially distance non-vaccinated fans.<\/p>\n If the vaccinated sections are within 30 feet of the court, those people also have to take a PCR test two days before the game or an antigen test the day of the game.<\/p>\n "You're already getting a sense that things are starting to change and go in a much more positive direction," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told the AP. "Just the environment in our building, I remember those first couple games we had at the beginning of the year when there was literally nobody here, that was an eerie experience."<\/p>\n Unfortunately, due to guidelines, children unable to get vaccinated are not eligible to be in the vaccinated-only sections for Miami Heat games even if their parents are.<\/p>\n The Heat began allowing limited fans in January and as of February, they've permitted a 3,000-person capacity.<\/p>\n One of the Heat's biggest safety precautions is virus-detecting dogs at the entrance to the stadium. <\/p>\n "Things are moving," Spoelstra added in a statement to the AP. "All of us can't wait until we get our building full again, and same thing for other arenas."<\/p>\n This story originally appeared on People.com.<\/p>\n