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Lollapalooza, the four day music festival, ended yesterday in Chicago. Acts included Foo Fighters, Meghan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Tyler Thee Creator. I watched some of it live on Hulu and have seen the photos and videos online. Over 180,000 people attended and they’re all packed close together with no social distancing and no masks in sight. Organizers required either proof of vaccine or a negative coronavirus test within the last 72 hours, although I’ve heard enforcement was lax. We know that there are fake vaccine cards circulating and that a negative test doesn’t ensure someone hasn’t contracted the virus more recently, especially with the highly contagious delta variant. As you know, people who are vaccinated can also get and spread covid, however they’re much less likely to get seriously ill. The event seemed so reckless to me and doctors agree. NBC Chicago spoke to area doctors who are concerned.
While Chicago officials remain hopeful Lollapalooza won’t spur a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, infectious disease experts at Northwestern University are bracing for a jump in infections during the coming weeks.
““It’s a recipe for disaster,” Dr. Tina Tan, a pediatrician and professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a news release. “You have people coming in all over from U.S., and even though the organizers are taking some efforts to mitigate infections, I don’t know how they’re going to enforce mask wearing, social distancing, handwashing…”
Despite an uptick in cases fueled by the delta variant, the Chicago Department of Public Health and Lollapalooza’s own health experts decided it was safe to proceed with the festival, Mayor Lori Lightfoot previously said.
The four-day event, which city officials have billed as the largest music festival happening in the world this year, saw massive crowds and little to no social distancing at multiple concerts on opening day.
To enter Lollapalooza, concert-goers must provide a printed copy of their COVID vaccine card, vaccine record or negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of entering. Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of Northwestern’s Institute for Global Health, acknowledged the vaccine and negative COVID-19 test requirements help, but said “it’s just not enough when you’re in the middle of the pandemic.”
For those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, a mask is required while inside the festival at all times. However, some infectious disease experts have expressed doubt whether mask requirements and social distancing will be followed.
In a tweet Friday evening, Lollapalooza announced masks will be required at any indoor spaces beginning Saturday following a recommendation from Chicago city officials that all residents over the age of 2 wear masks in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.
The article went on to quote a doctor who said “The real problem is not so much that a bunch of young people who come into Chicago getting COVID at this event. The real problem is them taking it back to places that have very low vaccination rates.” This festival never should have happened. It encapsulates the US response to the pandemic and just about everything. Just keep the economy moving, let people do what they want, and accept death and suffering as a consequence of capitalism. It’s despicable and it makes me think less of these musicians. If they had doubts about whether to perform, they surely faced so much pushback from their teams and from the insurance companies and corporations. So many people are responsible for this. Artists should have backed out, organizers should have called it off, and officials should have told them they weren’t welcome. At the very least masks should have been required at all times. The only thing that drives decisions in the US is cash.
I asked my friend who lives in Chicago for a comment for this story. She said “My main feeling is that the city’s leadership threw its citizens under the bus because they were afraid of losing the commerce from Lolla. Illinois is implementing new mask guidelines but it’s too late IMO. Those should have been implemented before Lolla.” Agreed.
It’s not all terrible news out of Lollapalooza.
Lollapalooza has dropped DaBaby from its lineup following his homophobic remarks pic.twitter.com/cs3eaVZKTD
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) August 1, 2021
And this is how their checking the vax cards…. pic.twitter.com/EWc6silpLt
— ? (@OSNotFound) July 31, 2021
