Will Lollapalooza, Sturgis Rally Be Covid-19 Coronavirus Delta Variant Superspreader Events?

It’s called Lollapalooza and not Coronapalooza. But there are concerns that the four-day music festival in Chicago’s Grant Park will turn out to be a Covid-19 coronavirus superspreader event.

That’s because Lollapalooza is expected to bring together 110,000 people a day from many different places in the middle of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. And they won’t be doing needlepoint, playing backgammon, or eating cheese in silence. Instead, they’ll be singing, hollering “woooo,” and spraying respiratory droplets into the air like thousands of mist machines with arms and legs. At the same time, the more contagious Delta variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could very well be in attendance. Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

Here’s a video of some of the first day festivities via a CBS News tweet:

By the way, that’s not a clump of wild rice in a boiling pot in the video. Rather that’s a mass of people squeezed together. Social distancing may not be the first word that comes to mind when you see this video. After all, social distancing is staying six feet apart and not six inches apart from others.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 coronavirus is not exactly under control in the Chicago-area. Compared to the prior week, the number of reported Covid-19 coronavirus cases is up by 58%, hospitalizations up by 70%, and deaths up by 40% in Chicago, according to the City of Chicago Covid Dashboard.

Well, at least most of the people at Lollapalooza will be wearing face masks, right?

Hmmm, let’s take a look at some of the photos from the concert so far, such as the following:

OK, face bedazzling is not the same as face mask wearing, unless you use a gigantic rhinestone that can form fit over your nose and mouth and happens to be porous enough for you to breathe through easily.

Then there is this photo, which seemed to have more “Cake Me” signs than face masks:

Is “Cake Me” the same as “Avocado Toast Me?” Perhaps. But neither avocado toast nor a seven-layer chocolate cake in the face will protect you or anyone else against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Now Lollapalooza is taking some Covid-19 precautions as the following tweet indicated:

Requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccination in theory sounds good, but without a verifiable vaccine passport system, how can organizers really tell how legit those Covid-19 Vaccination Record Cards being flashed may be? After all, people can do something called “lie.” As I’ve reported for Forbes, people have already been producing fake Covid-19 Vaccination Record Cards as if they were hot dogs. Plus, the concert is still allowing in people who are unvaccinated if they can provide “proof” that have had a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of the concert. Of course, people can do that “lie” thing again with the test results. Moreover, having a negative Covid-19 test prior to the concert is no guarantee that you won’t become infectious during the concert. That could be like taking a pregnancy test ten minutes after you’ve had unprotected sex, getting a negative test, and then believing that your “let’s take our chances because YOLO” contraception approach worked.

Moreover, even if you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the vaccines are not like concrete full body condoms. While the vaccines offer good protection, the protection is not 100% protection. You can still get infected with the virus. You can still get sick, albeit your chances are lower. You can still spread the virus to others. So, with the virus still actively spreading around you, it remains a good idea to layer on other Covid-19 precautions such as social distancing and face mask wearing even if you are already fully vaccinated. It’s the same reason that you don’t go out in a rainstorm just wearing your underwear. Or at least, you shouldn’t do that, especially if you are going out on a date, depending on, of course, who the date may be.

Looks like the concert organizers aren’t exactly saying that allapalooza is completely safe at Lollapalooza either:

Yes, reminding you that “Covid-19 is extremely contagious disease that can lead to sevre illness and death,” and then saying, “by attending Lollapalooza, you voluntarily assume all risk related to exposure to Covid-19” isn’t exactly saying, “you’ll be safe here.” Such a sign and statement may be covering something, and it may not be people’s noses and mouths.

If you are a Covid-19 coronavirus and happen to miss Lollapalooza, don’t fret or make crying, boo-hoo motions with your spikes. There will be other upcoming opportunities such as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2021 which is set to begin next week, August 6 at Sturgis, South Dakota and continue through August 15. The Sturgis Rally website says, “We’re spreading out wings.” With over 500,000 people expected, that may not be the only thing that’s spreading. As I covered for Forbes last September, one study estimated that the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally caused over 260,000 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases. While you shouldn’t bank on that specific number since the study had a number of limitations that I described, it wouldn’t surprising if the 2020 Sturgis Rally did contribute to the SARS-CoV2 surges seen last Summer. Recall how face mask-less and social distancing-less the Sturgis Rally was last year, again in the middle a public health emergency:

There were beards in this photo, but not a whole lot of face masks.

The lineup of big Summer gatherings won’t end with Sturgis. The following Twitter thread mentioned the upcoming Gathering of the Juggalos and Central Park Homecoming Concert:

Then there’s Rocklahoma, a three-day hard rock music festival with camping in Pryor, Oklahoma from September 3 to September 5:

To be fair, it’s not yet clear yet what Covid-19 precautions these upcoming events will be taking or what may happen to them as the U.S. continues to experience an upward trend in Covid-19 coronavirus cases.

Nevertheless, when the U.S. is trying to keep the Covid-19 coronavirus from surging further, when public health officials have gone back to recommending face mask wearing while indoors in public, is it a really a good idea to hold such large gatherings? Sure, many of these gatherings may be outdoors, but they will still bring together thousands of people to mix closely together. Being outdoors may not be able provide enough air circulation to overcome the close proximity unless the concert is being held in a tornado, which, of course, would bring other issues.

And all of this while Delta variant is getting more and more of a foothold or perhaps a spikehold in this country. Could such events give new meaning to the phrase “flying Delta?”