A weekend of concerts by rapper Bad Bunny has been connected with over 2,000 cases of COVID-19. The rapper – whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – performed to a packed stadium on the nights of Friday, Dec. 10 and Saturday, Dec. 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to a report by local newspaper El Nuevo Dia, at least 2,005 positive coronavirus cases have now been linked to the performances.
El Nuevo Dia‘s report on Friday was picked up for English-language readers by Newsweek, who spoke to Puerto Rico’s Office of Epidemiology as well. Officials said that they have confirmed 2,005 COVID patients either attended Bad Bunny’s concert or came into contact with someone else who did shortly afterward. They are warning not only about the severity of this particular outbreak, but of its implications for other concerts and major events around the world. However, Puerto Rico in particular is struggling with the omicron variant.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The surge in new COVID-19 cases in many parts of the world right now is due to the omicron variant – a mutation of the novel coronavirus which scientists believe is more transmissible than previous strains. In the course of two weeks, Puerto Rico’s average daily cases shot up from about 100 per day to about 5,148 per day, according to a report by The New York Times. El Nuevo Dia reported that 92% of the new cases documented in Puerto Rico were omicron variant cases last week.
The statistics are similar on the mainland U.S., where public health officials are now documenting an average of 200,000 new cases per day. The director of the National Institute of Health, Francis Collins, warned that that number is climbing, and is on pace to reach as high as 1 million cases per day if steps aren’t taken to slow the spread once again.
“I know people are tired of this,” Collins told NPR. “I’m tired of it too, believe me. But the virus is not tired of us. It’s having a great old time changing its shape every couple of months, coming up with new variants and figuring out ways to be even more contagious. Even if it has a somewhat lower risk of severity, we could be having a million cases a day if we’re not really attentive to all of those mitigation strategies.”
Most Viewed
-
(Credit: Rafa Jodar / Getty Images) -
NORTH BERGEN, NJ – AUGUST 23: Exterior view of a Walmart store on August 23, 2020 in North Bergen, New Jersey. Walmart saw its profits jump in latest quarter as e-commerce sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images) -
A ring of vibrant marigold flowers with glowing candles at the center, set against a dark background. (Credit: Eduardo Monroy Husillos / Getty Images) -
Netflix logo is displayed during the 'Paris Games Week' on November 02, 2017 in Paris, France. (Credit: Chesnot / Getty Images) -
NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images) -
Official promotional artwork for <em>The Voice</em> -
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 29: The Rose Parade letters and 2026 theme "The Magic in Teamwork" at the Tournament of Roses House on December 29, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
