Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady assures at a press conference in Chicago that the four-day festival did not contribute to the surge in COVID cases.
- Aug 13, 2021
AceShowbiz - Last month's (July 2021) four-day Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, Illinois was not the "superspreader" COVID event critics warned against.
City health officials announced on Thursday, August 12 that 203 positive coronavirus cases have been connected to the gathering, which featured performances from Miley Cyrus, Tyler, the Creator, Post Malone, Foo Fighters, Journey and Young Thug, who replaced previously announced headliner DaBaby.
DaBaby, real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, was billed to headline the final night of Lollapalooza, but organizers pulled his set after he made offensive remarks about HIV and AIDS sufferers at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami, Florida the week before.
The good news that the event did not contribute to the surge in COVID cases was shared by Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady at a press conference in Chicago.
"Nothing unexpected here," she reported. "No sign of a 'superspreader event.' But clearly with hundreds of thousands of people attending Lollapalooza we would expect to see some cases."
About 385,000 music fans attended the festival.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other city representatives defended their decision to allow festival bosses to proceed at the time, noting they had strict safety protocols in place. Attendees were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result.
Arwady said the 203 positive cases included those who had tested positive for the virus during or following the festival. She noted there were likely fans in attendance who were already infected, indicating 13 Chicago residents reported positive tests on or after a day at Lollapalooza.
"We would have seen a surge if we were going to see a surge at this point," she added.
