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The most recent outbreak report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) indicated that the Country Jam music festival in Mesa County was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak – this which means at least five or more new cases of COVID-19 may be linked to the rally. The festival takes place approximately 20 miles from the town of Grand Junction, in western Colorado, in the town of Mack.
Editor’s Note: The CDPHE defines an outbreak as five or more confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, at least one of which has had a positive molecular amplification test or antigen test, in a facility or group (non-domestic) with appearing in a 14 day period. An outbreak determination does not necessarily mean that all cases contracted their disease in that specific workplace / facility. It is possible that a case has been exposed elsewhere. For more information on outbreak definitions, click here.
According to the CDPHE report, the department has since attributed 23 cases of COVID-19 to the rally, four among staff and 19 among attendees (according to a report released on July 14, which can be found here). This is a slight increase from the 17 cases included in the July 7 report that was made a week earlier.
The festival was held June 24-26 and is considered Colorado’s largest event that combines country music and camping.
In an Associated Press article, Mesa County has been identified as a hotspot for the delta variant of COVID-19. According to this report, 42% of eligible adults in the country were fully immunized, lagging behind the statewide rate of 69.6% of eligible adults. Due to concerns, health officials considered canceling the music festival but decided it was “too late” to do so with 23,000 tickets already sold. An alcohol ban and a vaccination campaign were both seen as options to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the festival, although officials ultimately decided to post additional signage urging caution while warning attendees that the location was a hotspot for the coronavirus.
The Grand Junction Carnival, another event that took place in Mesa County, has also been determined to be the site of an outbreak. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was notified of the outbreak on July 1, with one staff member and 8 attendees reportedly contracting COVID-19 during the outdoor event.
The two-week cumulative incidence rate in Mesa County was 305.9 at the time of this article’s publication. This rate is high compared to many counties in Colorado, but not as high as in Moffat (573.5), Rio Blanco (586.6), Delta (340), Las Animas (331.2) and Archuleta (378.5). This compares to a rate of 56.2 in Denver County and 132.6 in El Paso County.
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