Audiences as well as performers, crew and staff members will be required to be fully vaccinated for Broadway shows to be staged from mid-September amid a spike in the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, the theater industry body said Friday.

The new guidelines will apply to all 41 Broadway theaters in New York City, with children under age 12 allowed to enter if they show proof of testing negative for COVID-19, the Broadway League said in a press release.

The announcement comes as the administration of President Joe Biden and some local governments are scrambling to press more people to get vaccinated by making it effectively mandatory in various settings.

Broadway tickets are already on sale ahead of a full reopening on Sept. 14. Audiences will have to wear masks inside theaters except while eating or drinking in designated areas.

Attendees "must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry into the theatre with their valid ticket," the organization said.

The new measures will be in place for shows through the end of October, and the industry body will decide in September whether to extend them into November and beyond.

Broadway performances were suspended in March 2020, shortly before the United States shut down businesses and imposed social distancing in the face of a surge in the number of novel coronavirus infections.