The city’s top health officials repeated their calls Thursday for attendees of the Electric Zoo music festival on Randalls Island over the Labor Day weekend to get a COVID-19 test as soon as possible.
Sixteen concert attendees wound up testing positive for the virus in the weeks since the Sept. 3-5 shindig. The city’s Department of Health believes that eight of the identified patients attended the Electric Zoo “while potentially contagious, and could have exposed others.”
COVID-19 typically has an incubation period of up to 14 days, meaning that anyone who attended the concert could become symptomatic up through Sept. 17-19.
During Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Sept. 16 briefing, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi urged any Electric Zoo concert-goer to get tested immediately.
“If you are someone who was at the festival, even if only for one day or one event during the three days of the festival, we do encourage you to get tested and that recommendation stands regardless of your vaccination status, but it’s particularly important if you’ve had symptoms recently,” Chokshi said.
Dr. Mitchell Katz, president of NYC Health + Hospitals, added that the test-and-trace operation regarding the Electric Zoo cluster “is working pretty hard on these cases, and interviewing people who are from New York City and figuring out what their contacts are.”
“This is one of our most effective ways of preventing further transmission of COVID,” Katz said.
Chokshi added that the Health Department’s investigation “is multi-jurisdictional,” and involves “other state and local Health Departments to identify cases.”
On its website, Electric Zoo seemed to welcome both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons. According to the health and safety protocols, unvaccinated patrons were required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of the event. Vaccinated patrons were required to show proof that they had received the vaccine, either with their vaccination card or passport.
Tickets for the Electric Zoo purchased online came with a disclaimer noting that the buyer assumed personal risk of potential exposure to COVID-19 when attending the event.
amNewYork Metro reached out to the concert organizers and is awaiting a response.
To find a COVID-19 testing site, visit nyc.gov/covidtest.
With reporting by Kevin Duggan
