Lollapalooza street closures, COVID rules as preparations for Chicago music festival continue
By Jessica D’Onofrio and Alexis McAdams
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CHICAGO, Illinois (WLS) — Lollapalooza COVID rules have been clarified and preparations are underway for hundreds of thousands of people to flock to Grant Park for the first iteration of the city’s biggest music festival after a global pandemic.
Health officials say the COVID surge is fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the highly contagious Delta variant.
The musical festival typically draws about 100,000 attendees per day, and that has some people worried.
“I do think there is going to be a significant risk of transmission at a tightly packed event such as Lolla, unfortunately,” Dr. Zachary Rubin said.
Lollapalooza said they are enforcing health measures at the direct of the city and the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Each person will have to show a printed vaccine card at the gate, or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of attending. Since the festival is four days long, weekend-long attendees will have to get tested multiple times.
If you don’t have the papers, you will not get in.
“We have tightened up the security procedures,” said Bob Klich of Monterrey Security.
A retired CPD commander with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience, he knows how to run a festival. But this year their biggest concern is health.
“It is going to be a challenging thing to do, but this is a new world that we are entering as America and the world starts to open up,” Klich said.
Klich and other security team members will be keeping a close eye out for fake vaccine cards and anyone trying to sneak in.
“There are two types of fences. The main fences are very hard to get over. They are going to be patrolled by our security and security from other companies, along with CPD,” he said.
But a rise in cases is still expected by many doctors.
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