More than 200 reported cases of COVID-19 have been linked to Lollapalooza, a four-day music festival in Chicago, The Associated Press reported.
Chicago health officials announced Thursday that 203 cases of COVID-19 had thus far been linked to Lollapalooza, The Associated Press reported. More than 385,000 attended the music festival that ran from late July to early August, according to Block Club Chicago.
Chicago health officials have linked 203 cases of COVID to Lollapalooza, with none resulting in hospitalization or death. Festival had vaccine mandates in effect, 385,000 in attendance. Health Commissioner: “There’s nothing unexpected here. This was not a superspreader event.” pic.twitter.com/D5DEzFW1Bm
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 12, 2021
Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said at a news conference there was “nothing unexpected here” about the data.
Arwady added that there was, “No sign of a ‘superspreader event.” But clearly with hundreds of thousands of people attending Lollapalooza we would expect to see some cases.”
“We would have seen a surge if we were going to see a surge at this point,” she said, according to The AP.
She said the city was still investigating cases, but did not expect it to make a major impact on COVID-19 infection rates.
Arwady claimed that of those who tested positive after attending Lollapalooza, 58 were from Chicago, 138 were Illinois residents from outside the city, and seven were from other states. Almost 80% of the individuals who tested positive were under 30 years old, and 62% were while, Arwady added.
Arwady also said that 13 Chicago residents who tested positive attended Lollapalooza on or the day after they began feeling symptoms.
Officials say the Lollapalooza outbreak has not yet been linked to any hospitalizations or deaths.
Footage from Lollapalooza, which was held outside at Grant Park, showed masses of people huddled close together — most without wearing masks. Last year, the festival was canceled due to the pandemic.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who pushed hard for the music festival to go on despite the delta variant, made an on-stage appearance during the opening day of the festival, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. Before Lightfoot introduced a band called the Black Pumas, Lightfoot cheered on the fact that attendees were at “the largest music festival anywhere on the globe this year,” according to the Sun-Times.
“The rate of vaccination in this crowd is off the charts,” Lightfoot claimed. Data released on Twitter from the festival suggested that 90% of attendees showed a vaccination card, and 8% showed proof of a negative COVID-19 test, the Sun-Times reported. “Thank you for masking up and vaxing up,” the mayor added.
The mayor also defended herself and the city against critics who believed the event should have been canceled. “I understand the fascination with Lolla,” Lightfoot said, “but the fact is, in this city, … we’ve been able to open but do it with care because of the vaccinations,” Block Club reported. At the time, just 52% of Chicagoans were fully vaccinated, city data showed, Book Club Chicago reported.