
Shakira fans concerned after ‘highly infectious disease spreads at her concert'
Shakira fans have been left slightly unsettled after being alerted that one of her recent concerts may have been linked to the spread of measles.
After releasing music for the first time when she was just 14, the Colombian singer entered English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service in 2001, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling album of all time by a female Latin artist.
In the years since she has gone on to win four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards.
Earlier this year the 48-year-old started her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, her first in seven years.
After kicking it off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last week she began her string of concerts in the United States.
Despite glowing reviews for the shows, some fans are now worried after a health warning was issued.
A press release sent out by the New Jersey Department of Health has alerted people that someone who attended Shakira's concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on May 15 may have exposed numerous staff and attendees to the disease.
According to the health department, anyone who was at the stadium from 7:30pm that night through to 1am the following day could have been exposed to the virus.
However, it hasn't shared specific details of where the infected attendee sat during the show.
People who didn't sit near them are still at risk of contracting measles though due to its high transmissibility.
The health department has confirmed no other cases of measles have been reported from the event yet but due to the disease's incubation period, people might not begin displaying symptoms until as late as June 6.
Although measles, which is an airborne virus, is considered one of the most contagious diseases in the world, it is preventable with vaccines.
Over the past few months there has been several states in the US that have faced measle outbreaks.
So far this year, the US has already recorded the most measles cases in a year (1,024) since a breakout of the disease in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Measles is an infection that spreads very easily and can cause serious problems in some people.
It usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth. Measles can lead to serious problems if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or brain.
Problems that can be caused by measles include pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures.
These problems are rare, but some people are more at risk. This includes babies and people with weakened immune systems.
Having the MMR vaccine is the best way to prevent it.
The disease had not been widespread in the US for about two decades amid high vaccination rates however 96% of the new cases were in unvaccinated individuals. Three people have now died from the disease.
According to USA Today, MetLife Stadium has a capacity for 50,000 attendees at concerts.
The health department also noted that the infected individual who attended the Shakira concert was from out of town, but did not clarify if they had been previously vaccinated. More Trending
Last week Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, was grilled by Democratic lawmakers during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on previous claims he made about vaccines, including downplaying the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine.
After saying he would 'probably' vaccinate his children against the measles today, he added: 'My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me.'
Shakira is next set to perform in Detroit, Michigan, tomorrow night. Her tour is due to end in Lima, Peru, on November 16.
Metro has contacted representatives for Shakira for comment.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: 'Unmatched' 80s action movie with 100% rating now available on streaming
MORE: Kourtney Kardashian was 'punched in the face' during terrifying moment at Diddy party
MORE: Tom Cruise comes under fire for 'awkward' Father's Day comment
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Dangerous new Nimbus Covid virus strain now detected in 13 states as doctors warn of unique symptom
Experts are warning of a dangerous new Covid variant spreading in over a dozen states. NB.1.8.1, nicknamed 'Nimbus,' first originated from China, where it has been linked to a rise in cases and ER visits. It was first detected in the US in late March and data suggests it now makes up over one in three Covid cases in the US, making it the second-most common variant. Early studies indicate it can attach to human cells more efficiently than its predecessors, making it the most infectious strain yet. Recently, many people infected with Covid have been reporting a symptom dubbed 'razor blade throat' — sharp pain that feels more severe than with previous strains. The CDC has not yet published official tracking data on the new variant. However, officials at the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) reported as of June 11, Nimbus has been found in 13 states, including California, New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii. The Covid-19 virus mutates constantly, and lab tests have shown new changes to the 'Nimbus' strain's spike protein, which may make it more infectious than currently circulating strains and potentially cause more severe illness. World Health Organization data also suggests it makes up more than half the variants currently circulating worldwide. The name 'Nimbus' was coined by Canadian evolutionary biologist T Ryan Gregory, the mind behind many popular variant names. Researchers have found that the latest Omicron offshoot strain showed the strongest ability to attach to the receptor that acts as a doorway for the virus to enter human cells in lab tests, 'suggesting it may infect cells more efficiently than earlier strains,' according to Dr Lara Herrero, a virologist at Griffith University in Australia. A preprint study on the strain also showed that antibodies from vaccines and past infection were about half as effective at blocking it as the LP.8.1.1 strain which is currently dominant in the US. Covid patients have shared online that the severe sore throat has kept them from sleeping for several consecutive nights, had them 'whimpering' and 'clawing' at their throats, left them unable to swallow without excruciating pain, and unable to speak for about a week. Nimbus has been significant in parts of Asia for weeks, causing over 1,000 infections in India and about 14,000 in Hong Kong and Singapore. It has since been labeled as a 'variant under monitoring' by the World Health Organization. Despite its spread across 22 countries so far, the WHO maintains it poses a relatively global public health threat thanks to wide vaccine coverage and population immunity. The global agency said: 'Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease. 'Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalizations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation.' Experts expect an uptick in cases this summer, noting there has been one every summer since 2020. By mid- to late-summer, immunity has waned from the previous fall's booster or from a previous infection. People also spend more time in indoor air-conditioned spaces, where most viral transmission occurs. And the summer months have typically always seen a rise in more transmissible variants. Dr Albert Ko, an epidemiologist at Yale School of Public Health, told Today: 'We may see an upswing (this) summer as in previous years, and this is expected to be smaller compared to what we experience in the winter.' Vaccine companies are in the midst of updating their shots to fit the 'Nimbus' strain. Moderna said late last month that its updated mNEXSPIKE shot will be available by the fall. A lower dose than the typical Covid vaccines is specially formulated for adults 65 and older, as well as people 12 to 64 with at least one or more underlying risk factor for severe Covid, such as cancer, diabetes, HIV, being overweight, or pregnant.


North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate for two decades, economist warns
Paul Johnson said that local government in England did 'perhaps a little bit better than it might have expected' out of the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday, but the 'sting in the tail' is the assumption that 'council tax bills will rise by 5% a year' as part of the funding. The core spending power of councils is set to increase by 2.6% a year from next year, and 'if English councils do choose 5% increases – and most almost certainly will – council tax bills look set to rise at their fastest rate over any parliament since 2001-05', Mr Johnson said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves said that ministers will not be 'going above' the 5% annual increases in council tax. She told ITV: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5% a year, and we have stuck to that. We won't be going above that. 'That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.' The biggest winner from Wednesday's statement was the NHS, which will see its budget rise by £29 billion per year in real terms. Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, has said that Britain is turning into a 'National Health State'. Overnight, the think tank said Ms Reeves' announcements had followed a recent trend that saw increases for the NHS come at the expense of other public services. Ms Curtice said: 'Health accounted for 90% of the extra public service spending, continuing a trend that is seeing the British state morph into a National Health State, with half of public service spending set to be on health by the end of the decade.' Defence was another of Wednesday's winners, Ms Curtice said, receiving a significant increase in capital spending while other departments saw an overall £3.6 billion real-terms cut in investment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made similar arguments about 'substantial' investment in the NHS and defence coming at the expense of other departments, although Mr Johnson warned on Wednesday the money may not be enough. In his snap reaction to the review, Mr Johnson said: 'Aiming to get back to meeting the NHS 18-week target for hospital waiting times within this Parliament is enormously ambitious – an NHS funding settlement below the long-run average might not measure up. 'And on defence, it's entirely possible that an increase in the Nato spending target will mean that maintaining defence spending at 2.6% of GDP no longer cuts the mustard.' Ms Curtice added that low and middle-income families had also done well out of the spending review 'after two rounds of painful tax rises and welfare cuts', with the poorest fifth of families benefiting from an average of £1,700 in extra spending on schools, hospitals and the police. She warned that, without economic growth, another round of tax rises was likely to come in the autumn as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books. She said: 'The extra money in this spending review has already been accounted for in the last forecast. 'But a weaker economic outlook and the unfunded changes to winter fuel payments mean the Chancellor will likely need to look again at tax rises in the autumn.' Speaking after delivering her spending review, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review. She told GB News: 'Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described rising health spending as a 'conundrum', with a similar approach having been taken 'again and again' as she spoke at a business conference in central London on Thursday morning. In reference to a pro-Brexit campaign stunt, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I mean, who remembers the side of a red bus that said 'we're going to give the NHS £350 million more a week'? 'Many people don't know that we did that. We did do that, and yet, still we're not seeing the returns. 'We've put more and more money in, and we're getting less and less out.' The Government have not explained how and why the NHS will be better as a result of its spending plans, the Tory leader added, and claimed the public know 'we need to start talking about productivity reforms, public sector reforms'.


South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate for two decades, economist warns
Paul Johnson said that local government in England did 'perhaps a little bit better than it might have expected' out of the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday, but the 'sting in the tail' is the assumption that 'council tax bills will rise by 5% a year' as part of the funding. The core spending power of councils is set to increase by 2.6% a year from next year, and 'if English councils do choose 5% increases – and most almost certainly will – council tax bills look set to rise at their fastest rate over any parliament since 2001-05', Mr Johnson said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves said that ministers will not be 'going above' the 5% annual increases in council tax. She told ITV: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5% a year, and we have stuck to that. We won't be going above that. 'That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.' The biggest winner from Wednesday's statement was the NHS, which will see its budget rise by £29 billion per year in real terms. Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, has said that Britain is turning into a 'National Health State'. Overnight, the think tank said Ms Reeves' announcements had followed a recent trend that saw increases for the NHS come at the expense of other public services. Ms Curtice said: 'Health accounted for 90% of the extra public service spending, continuing a trend that is seeing the British state morph into a National Health State, with half of public service spending set to be on health by the end of the decade.' Defence was another of Wednesday's winners, Ms Curtice said, receiving a significant increase in capital spending while other departments saw an overall £3.6 billion real-terms cut in investment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made similar arguments about 'substantial' investment in the NHS and defence coming at the expense of other departments, although Mr Johnson warned on Wednesday the money may not be enough. In his snap reaction to the review, Mr Johnson said: 'Aiming to get back to meeting the NHS 18-week target for hospital waiting times within this Parliament is enormously ambitious – an NHS funding settlement below the long-run average might not measure up. 'And on defence, it's entirely possible that an increase in the Nato spending target will mean that maintaining defence spending at 2.6% of GDP no longer cuts the mustard.' Ms Curtice added that low and middle-income families had also done well out of the spending review 'after two rounds of painful tax rises and welfare cuts', with the poorest fifth of families benefiting from an average of £1,700 in extra spending on schools, hospitals and the police. She warned that, without economic growth, another round of tax rises was likely to come in the autumn as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books. She said: 'The extra money in this spending review has already been accounted for in the last forecast. 'But a weaker economic outlook and the unfunded changes to winter fuel payments mean the Chancellor will likely need to look again at tax rises in the autumn.' Speaking after delivering her spending review, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review. She told GB News: 'Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described rising health spending as a 'conundrum', with a similar approach having been taken 'again and again' as she spoke at a business conference in central London on Thursday morning. In reference to a pro-Brexit campaign stunt, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I mean, who remembers the side of a red bus that said 'we're going to give the NHS £350 million more a week'? 'Many people don't know that we did that. We did do that, and yet, still we're not seeing the returns. 'We've put more and more money in, and we're getting less and less out.' The Government have not explained how and why the NHS will be better as a result of its spending plans, the Tory leader added, and claimed the public know 'we need to start talking about productivity reforms, public sector reforms'.