Shakira fans who managed to make it to MetLife Stadium are being warned that measles were also in the house last week.
“The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is alerting residents about potential exposures associated with a newly identified case of measles in a non-NJ resident who attended a concert in NJ while infectious,” officials said Tuesday.
The warning was issued for those who attended Shakira’s concert on Thursday night into Friday morning.
Health officials said that potentially exposed individuals “could develop symptoms as late as June 6.” Those could include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a facial or hairline rash that tends to appear within five days of infection.
Where in the stadium the infected person was seated, where they live and how they arrived to the concert isn’t clear. Due to a New Jersey Transit strike that’s since been resolved, Garden State buses and trains were not operating when Shakira performed, though Coach USA buses brought some passengers from Port Authority to New Jersey for the shows.
While vaccinations protect against measles, the World Health Organization says there’s no specific treatment for the very preventable yet highly infectious virus. The New York State Department of Health has recorded five cases of measles in New York City and six cases outside the five boroughs so far this year.
The problem’s much worse in Texas, where 722 people had tested positive as of Tuesday. Two unvaccinated children with no underlying health conditions have died from measles since late February, according to health officials in the Lone Star State.
Originally Published: May 20, 2025 at 7:21 PM EDT
