[ad_1]
Eleven Napa County residents who attended the BottleRock Napa Valley Festival over the Labor Day weekend tested positive for COVID-19 according to health officials nationwide, who saw the number as an indicator of successful security protocols.
“In the 14-day period since the inception of BottleRock Napa Valley, we are pleased to report that Napa County has not experienced any material impact on the number of COVID cases as a result,” said Dr Karen Relucio, County Public Health Officer. Chronicle of San Francisco. “The protocols that the festival producers have developed, in collaboration with public health, have proven to be extremely effective,” said Relucio.
Last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. This year, the festival took place at the Napa Valley Expo from September 3-5 and saw nearly 120,000 attendees. According to Relucio, Napa COVID-19 cases in Napa County declined 28% in the next two weeks. On September 17, two weeks after BottleRock opened, the county was averaging 23 new cases per 100,000 people in seven days, a rate that has since fallen to 15.
Sonoma County recorded similar numbers to Napa, with fewer than 10 cases among residents who frequented BottleRock.
The event marked the first major festival in Northern California since the start of the pandemic. Organizers have required attendees to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative coronavirus test, and festival co-producers Live Nation and Latitude 38 Entertainment report that 96% of attendees showed proof of vaccination. BottleRock also encouraged attendees to wear masks, although most did not, but attendees used contactless bracelets for cashless transactions and most of the performances were held outdoors.
“We are seeing an overall decline in case rates,” Kate Pack, chief epidemiologist for Sonoma County, said during a COVID-19 briefing last week. However, she also said the number of COVID-19 cases resulting from the festival is likely higher than we think because county officials are typically only able to trace about half of the reported cases. “I don’t know if we still have a full picture in terms of BottleRock,” she said.
California currently has the lowest COVID-19 transmission rate in the country. On Monday, the federal government designated California as part of the “moderate” transmission category, while most states remain at “high” transmission levels.
BottleRock artists this year included Guns N ‘Roses, Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion and Miley Cyrus, among others, and BottleRock is set to take place again in Napa on Memorial Day weekend in 2022. Upcoming festivals in the area include Outside Lands Music and Festival of the Arts at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco during Halloween weekend.
[ad_2]
Source link