Chicago's Top Doc Confident Lolla Won't Cause Significant Issues

CHICAGO — Chicago’s top doctor is comfortable with Lollapalooza moving ahead this weekend as planned despite the fact confirmed a number of cases of the coronavirus will likely come out of the outdoor music festival at Grant Park at a time when cases are surging nationwide.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday that with COVID-19 protocols in place for the festival, she is confident that the event can go on as planned without too much of an issue. Organizers have said that event-goers will need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before they enter — a stipulation that Arwady said makes her more comfortable with the city’s decision to allow Lollapalooza to go on as planned.

Arwady said at a news conference at City Hall that Chicago remains “in quite good control” of COVID-19 despite the fact that cases of the coronavirus are picking up around the country due to the delta variant.

On a day when city officials announced that more states, mostly in the southeastern part of the country, have been added to Chicago’s travel advisory list, Arwady said that she would not feel as comfortable with the music festival moving forward if other factors were involved.

“I would not feel comfortable moving ahead with Lollapalooza without COVID protocols in place,” she said Tuesday. “I don’t think I would feel comfortable if this were an indoor event, either, and I frankly don’t think I would feel comfortable if we were sitting in Louisiana right now.”

While some have suggested that the event should not be taking place, Arwady said that she feels the event can be held responsibly. She said while the four-day festival likely won’t be without some cases of COVID-19, she said that will all of the stipulations in place for festival attendees, she doesn’t expect to see “ a significant issue” rise out of the event.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she isn’t having any second thoughts about allowing the festival to go on as planned despite the fact COVID-19 cases are rising. In Illinois, where state health issues announced the state’s 7-day rolling positivity rate had risen to 3.7 percent, many of the increases cases are in the central and southern portions of the state where vaccination rates aren’t as high.

As of Tuesday, Chicago’s positivity rate stands at 2.6 percent, which is still twice the rate it was last week. Despite the rise in numbers, Lightfoot, like the city’s health commissioner, feels comfortable with the environment in which Lollapalooza will take place.

“It’s outdoors. We’ve been having large-scale events all over the city since June without major problems or issues,” Lightfoot said Monday.