Lollapalooza not ‘super-spreader’ event, says city’s top public health officialStefano Espositoon August 12, 2021 at 4:13 pm

Some two weeks after the opening day of Lollapalooza, the music festival shows no signs of having been a “super spreader event,” the city’s top public health official said Thursday.

Of the approximately 385,000 people who attended, 203 attendees have been diagnosed with COVID-19, Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said Thursday during a news conference at City Hall. As of Wednesday, none of those who tested positive have had to be hospitalized or have died, Arwady said.

“The bottom line is we’ve not seen anything that has surprised us related to the Lollapalooza outbreak,” Arwady said.

Of the 203 cases, 127 were among vaccinated attendees and 76 were among unvaccinated attendees, Arwady said.

Fifty-eight of the cases are Chicago residents, she said; of those, 13 people reported attending Lollapalooza on or after their symptoms began, Arwady said.

“This is a really important reminder that we need everybody in Chicago not to ignore symptoms, assume it’s a summer cold, regardless of your vaccination status because we know the vaccines aren’t 100% protective,” she said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Read More