Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour is the number-one concert of 2023-2024. Millions of dedicated Swiftie fans worldwide have done whatever it takes to secure tickets for the once-in-a-lifetime concert experience.
However, for thousands, experience is not the only thing they have come away with. On May 29 and 30, Taylor Swift performed two sold-out shows in Madrid for more than 130,000 fans.
Despite having the times of their lives, meeting news Swiftie fans, and swapping T-Swift friendship bracelets, it appears the Madrid fans also swapped some unwanted germs, causing a major medical outbreak, according to Salon.com.
Spanish news site El Nacional reports that following Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour stop, thousands of concert attendees have revealed they have contracted COVID-19.
Since 2020, such mega events have been widely known as superspreader events. However, some Madrid fans may have gotten more than they bargained for at no fault of Taylor Swift.
Following the Madrid Eras Tour stop, Taylor Swift fans began experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. One Spanish Swifties X account soon began polling to determine whether fans who had attended the show were coming down sick. 10,796 people answered the poll online, and 35%, or 3,780 of the concertgoers, revealed they became ill following the show and tested positive for COVID-19.
Medical professionals and United States scientists are warning everyone of what they are calling a summer wave of COVID cases. They claim that, over the summer, large event attendees could be at risk.
The potential rise in COVID-19 cases stems from new Omicron subvariants like the KP.3 variant, JN.1 virus, or other strains known as the Flirt strains.
The new strains of the virus currently account for 50% of cases in the United States. However, per the CDC, infection rates and hospitalization have been lower or “minimal” levels of “respiratory illness activity.” As for the infected fans, they claim it was worth it despite feeling awfully sick.
Most are chalking it up as just another Taylor Swift Eras Tour bonus. Fans should be on the lookout because Madrid concertgoers do not seem to be the only ones who claim to have contracted the virus during Taylor Swift’s show. Some Paris fans also claim to have contracted COVID following the concert. However, most claim they still think it was worth it and would do it again.
