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Health officials are investigating the Covid-19 outbreaks linked to two recent outdoor music festivals in Michigan and Oregon, raising new concerns about the safety of events with crowded crowds, even outside , as live music returns and the more transmissible Delta variant spreads. Michigan officials say at least 96 cases can be traced to the Faster Horses Festival, which took place in Brooklyn, Michigan, July 16-18, while Oregon officials are reviewing 62 cases related to Pendleton Whiskey Music Fest of July 10 in Pendleton. , Oregon. In Michigan, a person considered a “secondary case” – infected by someone who contracted Covid from Faster Horses – is hospitalized. Neither event required participants to be vaccinated.
“These events are the wake-up call across the arc,” says Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director for infection prevention and control at the University of Chicago Medical Center. It also highlights the many cases was reportedly linked to the July Verknipt Festival in the Netherlands, which also took place outside. “I think we find that what you do outside is important,” Landon adds. “And even though people are vaccinated, it looks like we may need to be more careful with overcrowded events. “
At the Pendleton Festival, where Toby Keith, Cole Swindell and other artists performed for more than 10,000 fans, contact tracing confirms that much of the transmission took place in an area where fans were stuck next to each other, according to Umatilla County, Ore., director of public health Joe Fiumara. Organizers say they cut back on the festival’s capacity to try and give fans room to safely spread out, but the crowd still crowded in front. “Not all, but the majority of cases have been traced to the party pit area,” says Fiumara. “There was a lot of space provided, but the people were quite close to each other.
After stopping last spring, the live music business has started roaring again, although the Delta variant has forced cancellations or postponements of acts such as the Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boy, and a new push for vaccination requirements and other safety measures.
Outdoor events are much safer than indoor events, experts agree. Even in the most congested outdoor areas, aerosols cannot build up the way they do indoors, greatly reducing the risk of a single contagious person spreading Covid to many people. Yet, according to aerosol scientist Alex Huffman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Denver, some of the benefits of being outdoors diminish when thousands of people are crammed cheek to cheek, especially with the Delta. more transmissible. widely used variant. “If you’re outside and you’re wrapped up with someone,” Huffman explains, “it comes close to being like an indoor environment, where you have very high aerosol exposure from the person who is. is a foot away from you, or even a few inches from you. “
Immunization rates are another crucial factor. Only 25 of the 96 people infected with Faster Horses – who have hosted performances by Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and Luke Combs – have been vaccinated, according to Chelsea Wuth, deputy head of public information for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Officials in Oregon don’t have specific information on the immunization status of Pendleton-related cases, but about 50% of people in Umatilla County, where the festival took place, have received at least one dose.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” says Pendleton co-organizer Dr Doug Corey, who is also a veterinarian. He notes that the festival has followed all government guidelines and reduced capacity from 20,000 to 12,000. “We hope everyone who has had Covid improves and gets well. ”
The organizers of the Faster Horses festival declined a request for an interview, but said in a statement that they “are working closely with local authorities to ensure that all recommended guidelines are followed. We encourage all who do so. attended to engage in regular testing for Covid-19 so we can do our best to protect each other. ”
Landon is more concerned with pit type areas and crowded festivals. Even stadium seats are much safer than these scenarios, she says, thanks to the increased distance between fans and the lack of countless close contacts that occur when one wades through a sea of people. “When you put people in an orderly configuration, facing the same direction, it’s really different,” she says. “Even that distance of a few feet between the seats makes a big difference, compared to being in a pit during a show. ”
She recommends that festivals and concerts require vaccinations and that fans who insist on going to crowded areas wear a mask – and eye protection, too. “Expecting someone to wear an N95 and a face shield at a summer music festival is a big request,” she wrote in an email. “But if I had to go, this is what I would do.”
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