The Super Bowl Didn’t Turn Into a “Superspreader”

There was some controversy over Super Bowl 55 hosting 25,000 fans during a pandemic . . . even though 7,500 of them were vaccinated health care workers.  But it looks like the NFL kept things under control.

Local health officials have determined that the official Super Bowl events only resulted in 57 total COVID-19 cases,  despite the thousands of fans who traveled to Tampa to attend the game and other events.

There were 53 confirmed cases in the state of Florida linked to the Super Bowl, while four out-of-state cases were tracked to the Big Game.

That definitely wouldn’t make it a “superspreader” event even though on February 7th, the day of the game, the U.S. was still averaging around 100,000 new cases a day, and more than 3,000 deaths daily.

Now, we’re down to around 60,000 new cases, and under 2,000 deaths per day.

All that being said, the area DID see an increase in the positivity rate in the weeks afterward, but they attribute that to unofficial gatherings, like family get-togethers, parties, bars, and restaurants.

Hopefully this spells good news for opening up other sporting events as the Spring and Summer approach!