West Reading, Pennsylvania 2.54am / Singapore 2.54pm / Vienna 8.54am / Los Angeles 11.54pm (Aug 15)
Unless you’ve been living in a Wi-Fi-free hole for the past few months, you know that Taylor Alison Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour has been having a major moment. And while most of the social media coverage has featured Swifties dancing and belting out bops like “Cruel Summer” and “Lavender Haze,” some attendees of last week’s SoFi Stadium shows in Los Angeles have been posting about a less joyful effect of their concert euphoria: a positive COVID-19 test.
July 23, 2023, Singer Tori Kelly is currently hospitalized and getting treatment for blood clots around her vital organs, with one source telling us the situation is ‘really serious.’
And yes, some of these fans claim they took standard safety precautions like wearing a mask and quarantining before and after the concert. (As you’ve probably seen in social media videos, however, the majority of folks were unmasked at the shows.)
The city (along with other parts of California as well as other areas of the country) has been experiencing an uptick in COVID as of last Thursday—to be more specific, an average of 333 new cases per day, according to the most recent data from the LA County Department of Public Health. “It’s impossible to say for certain if and how much the Taylor Swift concerts, or any other single large event, contributed to these increasing counts,” the department confirmed to SELF in an email. “We know large gatherings where thousands of people are in close proximity are higher risk events, however, it is very likely that increased rates of summer travel and other gatherings are also contributing to the increase.” (Morgan Wallen’s show and the Head in the Clouds Music Festival also recently drew crowds in Los Angeles County.)
This seems like an ideal opportunity to remind everyone that big events like concerts, even if they’re outdoors, still come with COVID risks. Screaming and/or crying at the top of your lungs for three hours (as you should) is a recipe for potential transmission: Remember that the coronavirus that causes COVID often spreads through respiratory droplets via coughing, sneezing, and talking (or, yep, singing), as SELF previously reported. And even if a show is mostly outside, there are likely some moments when you’re stuck waiting in a long bathroom line, for example, or standing inside to buy some merch and snacks.
“Outdoor transmission has become more likely with the newer variants as they have become more transmissible, but outdoors remains a much lower-risk setting than indoors,” Linsey Marr, PhD, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech who studies viral transmission, told SELF in 2022. Still, an open-air concert isn’t a “get out of jail free card,” especially with the new variant, Eris, on the rise. Viral particles disperse more quickly outside, thanks to wind speed and air currents. But some of the factors that make indoor settings risky—crowded spaces, the sharing of food and drinks, people who have recently traveled—still exist outdoors and can increase your chances of contracting COVID.
That’s why it’s crucial to be extra vigilant and practice common sense precautions post-concert, like social distancing and isolating for the next few days (yes, even if you’re asymptomatic) and making sure to take not one, but two (or three!) rapid tests to ensure that you and those around you stay safe and healthy.
Back again to Taylor. Taylor Swift is projected to become the first living artist to occupy 5 spots inside the Top 10 of Billboard 200.
#5. Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
#6. Midnights
#7. Lover
#8. 1989
#10. folklore
And back again to coronavirus. Since at-home COVID tests aren’t always reliable, you’ll want to test more than once, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. (Plus, we don’t have a ton of data on how well these tests pick up the new variant compared to more accurate PCR tests you’d get at the doctor’s office.)
Remember: These small steps help you take care of yourself and your community! Because what’s the point of having the night of your life only to feel, um, all too unwell—and possibly infect someone else—once you come down from your concert bliss?
In Asia, Singapore’s stability, location and world-class infrastructure allow global pop stars’ promoters to lock in tour dates without fear of disruption. The hysteria for tickets to see the American celebrity’s Eras Tour suddenly centred on Singapore.
Swift has made the city state her only Southeast Asian stop for the tour in 2024, nearly a decade since her last visit in 2015, a feather in the cap for Singapore as it vies to become Asia’s tour destination of choice for top stars.
Prominent artistes like Coldplay and Taylor Swift have chosen Singapore as a tour stop – and even playing multiple days – due to factors like the country’s state-of-the-art event facilities and its branding as an entertainment hub.
But Singapore, around 4 million people, was suffered (around October 2021-May 2022) casualties daily 9 until 30 people, and in months was “worst country suffered coronavirus, in percentage entire population v casualties.”
Good luck with Eris.
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-prada- Adi Mulia Pradana is a Helper. Former adviser (President Indonesia) Jokowi for mapping 2-times election. I used to get paid to catch all these blunders—now I do it for free. Trying to work out what's going on, what happens next. Arch enemies of the tobacco industry, (still) survive after getting doxed.
Now figure out, or, prevent catastrophic situations in the Indonesian administration from outside the government. After his mom was nearly killed by a syndicate, now I do it (catch all these blunders, especially blunders by an asshole syndicates) for free. Writer actually facing 12 years attack-simultaneously (physically terror, cyberattack terror) by his (ex) friend in IR UGM / HI UGM (all of them actually indebted to me, at least get a very cheap book). 2 times, my mom nearly got assassinated by my friend with “komplotan” / weird syndicate. Once assassin, forever is assassin, that I was facing in years. I push myself to be (keep) dovish, pacifist, and you can read my pacifist tone in every note I write. A framing that myself propagated for years.
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