Will Bucks Celebrations Hike COVID-19 Cases?
Health officials fear a spike could come. Half of county residents are not vaccinated.
Fans walk past a sign advertising COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday, July 20, 2021, outside the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
On the night the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship, the city’s health department was in the Deer District offering fans free COVID-19 vaccinations.
Health officials gave out 19 shots that night.
“We know people wanted to be jubilant and celebrate,” Van Dijk said during a call with media Thursday after the parade. “But we know, as I said, half the state is fully vaccinated and so half the state is not, and I assume the same applies to the people in the Deer District or in the arena. And I didn’t see half of the participants wearing a mask.”
Fans cheer as the Bucks play in the NBA Finals on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
It has been difficult to correlate a spike in COVID-19 cases with an individual event, although having 65,000 people concentrated in one space hasn’t been a common sight during the pandemic, said Dr. Ben Weston, medical director of the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.
Weston said being outside makes the likelihood of spread relatively low — for people who are fully vaccinated. But because the disease is spread through close contact, the risk level was high for unvaccinated individuals.
In Milwaukee, the COVID-19 rate this week increased to 50.7 cases per 100,000 people, a number the city hasn’t seen since early June, said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson.
“What we’re seeing right now with the increase in COVID-19 cases is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Johnson said. “The delta variant is more transmissible than previous strains of this virus, and we anticipated the prevalence of this variant in our city would create a rise in cases. This is the time for those who are unvaccinated to prioritize getting their COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
During pre-playoff game vaccination clinics in June, the Milwaukee Health Department was able to vaccinate 53 people.
“The Bucks celebrations this past week were incredible shows of pride and excitement for our city, but we know that large gatherings such as those happening in the Deer District can create an influx in positive COVID-19 cases,” Johnson said.
To find the vaccine and schedule an appointment, visit https://vaccinate.wi.gov/en-US or call 844-684-1064.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Health Officials Warn Bucks Celebrations Could Lead To Increase In COVID-19 Cases was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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“In Milwaukee, the COVID-19 rate this week increased to 50.7 cases per 100,000 people, a number the city hasn’t seen since early June, said Milwaukee Health Commissioner….”
And this is attributable to what?
“Health officials fear a spike could come”
Question: And how does this compare with hundreds of other cities who happened NOT to be able to “group-celebrate” a championship?
“…. warned there could be a spike in COVID-19 cases due to the large gatherings of people in downtown Milwaukee during Tuesday’s game and Thursday’s championship parade.”
Question: Would it be news to say, “might or might not be a spike…”
“… we know that large gatherings such as those happening in the Deer District can create an influx in positive COVID-19 cases,” Johnson said”.
Question: Why did Johnson not say “will” instead of “can”. Or even not say “will likely” instead of “can”. Or say “it’s been proven that… blah blah…”?
Actually, MY learned prediction would be… “There could, but might not be a spike; regardless, it will be impossible to tell”. I guarantee my statement will be correct and every bit as helpful as the (dare I say “lame”?) story presented here.
Reminds me of the nonsensical speculative and hyperbolic stories generated around the time that I and others voted in person during the pandemic. The only things then that made sense were: (1) In many voting places, it was very safety-conscious, smooth, seamless, and the polling place planners and workers deserved mountains of praise (which was not mentioned anywhere so far as I could tell); and, (2) eventually, someone in the govt with access to all the data, said there was absolutely no way statistically to figure out what effect in-perspon voting had, if any. That whole fantasy trip into scare mongering and baseless speculation was truly entertaining.
It’s hard to write stories without facts to present. I think my father (a journalist) said it best: Skim the story first and look for the “could” statements, the “may” statements, the “might” statements… and if they appear routinely in the copy — either just read the story for amusement and to see how “stretch-the-facts-creative” the writer chooses to get … or else don’t bother to read it at all. If it’s concdermniong an important event or scenario, a worthwhile version of it will pop up somewhere else soon enough.
The Wall Street owned corporate media is blaming unvaccinated people for the recent upswing in COVID cases. But the actual reason is that 99% of Americans have stopped wearing COVID masks. 300,000 people show up at the Milwaukee Bucks victory parade with only two or three people wearing COVID masks.
I haven’t taken the COVID vaccine. There have been too many deaths and bad reactions from these vaccines. I’ll continue to wear my COVID mask until something safer comes along. And I take 10,000 IU of vitamin D every day as recommended by Dr. Fauci.