Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE
Travis Scott In Concert - Atlanta, Georgia

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty

The coronavirus has people STRESSED.

It makes sense considering the virus is rapidly spreading across the world with each day and information is still developing about its habits. It could take at least a year before a vaccine is possibly available to prevent the virus. Until then, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has listed a few precautions people can take to lower their risk of contracting the virus.

However, this doesn’t seem to be calming down music festival attendees. On Change.org, a petition has already gone up demanding the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival be canceled. The festival is set to run from April 10-19th in Riverside County which recently declared a Public Health Emergency after their first cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) were confirmed at a local hospital. 

If the festival is canceled, fans would be missing out on some epic headliners including Travis Scott, Frank Ocean and Rage Against The Machine. 

The creator of the Change.org petition, Stella Young, said she was concerned for the safety of local residents and attendees. “As a highly inclusive community, we are responsible to protect each and every community member,” she wrote in the petition. “Which include the ones who are elderly, fragile, or the ones who suffers from chronic diseases, cancer, immune system diseases and other form of disabilities. The lives of these people should not be down-played and we shouldn’t risk their lives since they have a higher chance catching COVID-19 and develop critical situations that need to be hospitalized.”

David Gleason of La Quinta, CA, signed the petition and explained, “I’m a senior and have medical conditions that make me more at risk for the Coronavirus. The idea of having over 70 thousand persons on each of two weekends and within a mile or two of my home and my stores, market and other providers is threatening. This is not something that should be permitted; a postponement is in order.”

The petition has already received over 13,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a counter-petition was also created calling for Coachella to continue as usual. This one has received over 2,000 signatures as of Monday. The creator, Richard Davis, says “Let’s not cancel Coachella, if you want it cancelled just sell your ticket.” One signee, Nicole Englanoff, even commented, “I’d rather get coronavirus than not go to Coachella.”

So far, other major festivals around the country have already been canceled, including SXSW and Miami’s Ultra Music Festival. The Managing Director of Campaigns at Change.org, Michael Jones, has said petitions have been popping up all over the site demanding schools and universities be closed.

“Hundreds of people around the country are turning to Change.org to start petitions around coronavirus and how this global health issue is affecting their local community,” said Jones. “This is the biggest trend we have on the site right now and we suspect it will only continue as more and more communities wrestle to get the information they need to prepare for the virus.”

Again, the best way to deal with the virus right now is to stay informed. You can check for live updates over at CNN and various other news outlets.