Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx this week conveyed contentment that his band decided not to tour amid the current pandemic. COVID-19 had already pushed the group’s anticipated Stadium Tour out to 2022 after the concert trek alongside Def Leppard and others missed its original start date in 2020.

The bassist's joy seems to come from avoiding a very plausible scenario wherein he and other Motley Crue members, crew or concertgoers could've contracted the novel coronavirus or its variants on the road this summer, thereby necessitating hasty rearrangements and possible further postponed shows — not to mention the impacts on the health of those involved.

Similar situations are already happening with several rock acts — among them, Korn this week rescheduled several concerts after singer Jonathan Davis got COVID; Buckcherry in July canceled gigs after two of their musicians tested positive for it. So it makes sense that Motley Crue might feel some relief about the delay.

"I'm so happy we decided to not tour during this pandemic," Sixx said in an Instagram post on Wednesday (Aug 18). "100 percent."

He added, "Not a hard decision to make when so many people's lives are at risk," before concluding in all caps, "I MISS IT 'REALLY' BAD AND CAN'T WAIT TO HIT THE ROAD IN 2022."

As other artists move to resume touring this year after a largely concert-less 2020, concert promoters such as AEG Presents and Live Nation are requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test from concertgoers, mirroring the practice several other businesses are following.

Meanwhile, some performers are revolting against such dictates — both Eric Clapton and Madball refused to do vaccination-required gigs. Still, within the last two weeks, Korn's Davis, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Sebastian Bach and guitarists for Tesla and Lynyrd Skynyrd revealed they've tested positive for COVID.

Vaccination efforts continue as 51 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated as of Aug. 19 and more easily transmissible variants of the disease have emerged. The CDC now recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in most indoor settings.

Get tickets to Motley Crue's 2022 tour here.

These Are the Rock + Metal Bands Touring in 2021

Your guide to rock and metal bands' return to tours in 2021.

More From 96.5 KNRX