Concerns rise about COVID cases associated with Lollapalooza
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Health officials are preparing for a spike in COVID-19 cases in the wake of Lollapalooza this past weekend.
Lollapalooza once again brought more than 100,000 music lovers to Grant Park each day of the four-day festival. Along with a good time, some appear also to be leaving with positive COVID-19 tests—and posts shared online have urged other attendees of both the festival itself and afterparties to get checked out.
"With Lollapalooza being an outdoor festival, the risks should be theoretically lower," said Dr. Sindhu Aderson, Central Region Medical Director for Northwestern Immediate Care. "But you know, it is still there."
Aderson said after any large gathering, health care providers expect to see a rise in COVID cases five to seven days after the event.
"I saw those videos of those crowds, and people fairly close together, and if you are having symptoms—or even a day or two prior to having symptoms—you can still spread the virus to folks around you."
The height of the COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of Lollapalooza in 2020. Many large events in Chicago were also canceled in 2021, but Lollapalooza went ahead—despite concerns that it could be a COVID superspreader.
Then-Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said there was no evidence of such an outcome. A total of 203 cases were associated that year with Lollapalooza, which required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for entry.
Right now in Chicago, the Department of Public Health recently reported an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19, and a test positivity rate of 11.3%.
"The majority of the patients we're seeing, luckily, have either had COVID previously and have some immunity from that, or they've been vaccinated and boosted," Aderson said. "So the symptoms have been very mild."
With kids going back to school, doctors we spoke with urged parents to leave their kids home if they are displaying any symptoms.