ROME – The Måneskin concert at Circus Maximus took place on Saturday and was not postponed despite Fimmg Lazio doctors warning of a spike in Covid cases to follow. 

 Seven thousand turned up to the two-hour long, sold-out concert amidst the recent rise of infection fuelled by the Omicron-5 sub variant of the virus in the Lazio region. Angelina Jolie, present in Rome for the filming of 'Without Blood,' also turned up to the festival that was in collaboration with Rock in Roma. 

 On average, 87,130 new infections are being registered each day, reported news agency Reuters, though this number is expected to be much higher due to at-home tests. 

 In light of this, doctors called for a postponement of the open-air concert until the peak of the surge has passed, however this was not taken into account. 

 Marcello Pilli, a doctor from Ostia, told news agency La Repubblica, “Holding the Måneskin concert conisdering current times is a madness to me”, adding, “We risk 20,000 positive cases in one single blow.”

 The Order of Doctors also took a stand, declaring that there is a risk of contagion at concerts and recommending the use of the Ffp2 mask, which was not put in place either. 

 However, many fans took to social media to express their frustration at this, claiming that concerts have been happening for months, and asking why this discussion has only been raised with the Roman band, Måneskin? 

 Among comments on social media were comparisons to other concerts and festivals scheduled to take place.

 “90% of Italian artists have been doing concerts for months but the problem is Måneskin. The Jova Beach Party has more than ten dates with a capacity of 60,000 people and Vasco the same thing and Måneskin is the only one that causes a problem !?”

 The comments on social media also came from those who do not consider themselves fans but protested on matter of principle. 

 Councilor for Major Events, Tourism, Sport and Fashion of Rome Capital, Alessandro Onorato, ahead of the concert resassured that all necessary precautions would be taken.

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