If you went to Lollapalooza, get a COVID-19 test this week, Champaign-Urbana health department urges local residents

Shanzeh Ahmad, Chicago Tribune
·2 min read

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District asked in a Facebook post Tuesday that those who attended Lollapalooza over the course of the four-day festival get tested for COVID-19 this week.

The public health authority included information on Champaign County’s COVID-19 testing availability and asked attendees of the music festival, about 385,000 over the course of the four days, to get tested Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

“This will help us shut down any local outbreaks before they get started,” said the post, which made no distinction between festival attendees who are vaccinated and those who aren’t.

Champaign County, home to the University of Illinois’ flagship campus, is currently listed as a “high transmission” community, while the Chicago area and Cook County are at “substantial transmission,” according to the Illinois Department of Health. The county also had a 3.4% positivity rate as of Tuesday, while Cook County was slightly less at 3.35%.

There were 21,944 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Champaign County as of Wednesday, which was an increase of 53 cases from the total reported Tuesday. Cases increased by 64 Tuesday and 31 Monday.

Festivalgoers were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the previous three days, and city officials said more than 90% of attendees were vaccinated, though there were some reports of people being waved without a thorough document check.

A mask rule was issued during the festival but only for indoor spaces. Masks were handed out at some locations.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot faced some criticism for going forward with the Lollapalooza as the delta variant brings new cases and new concerns about whether even outdoor festivals can be superspreader events. Gov. J.B. Pritzker planned to attend and then backed out, citing the spread of the variant.