BLACK ROCK DESERT, NEVADA – This year’s Burning Man festival attendees may be in for a shock as they make their way to the unforgiving desert landscape for the August 25th festival. While the event is largely promoted as a place where people can come and be themselves it seems the State Health Department of Nevada along with the the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have decided that this nine day event has been making people a little to free and creating a public heath crisis long after the festival has ended. “These festivals are a breeding ground for unprotected sex and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Department of Health spokeswoman Angela Lowe. “Look at Coachella, the Stagecoach Musical Festival, all of them show a significant uptick in STDs and it is not just souvineers that the people who go to these events are bringing back home with them.” In an effort to stop the spread of STDs anyone who wants to participate in Burning Man will be required to submit to STD testing before they are allowed to enter the festival grounds. “While we can’t stop people from having sex, we can make sure they are not passing on STDs to uninfected partners,” said Lowe. Mobile tents will be setup at all entrances to the festival and people will be screened before being allowed to enter. Anyone who has an STD will be quarantined and taken to the local health center to get treatment. Those that have untreatable conditions will be logged and banned from Burning Man and all future festivals in the state of Nevada. The organizers of the event are asking people to come a few days before the festival to avoid a bottleneck at the entrances. Once you have been tested you will receive a wrist band that must be worn at all times inside the festival grounds. More details are expected by the end of July.
Nevada Department of Health to Screen Every Single Person Who Attends Burning Man for STDs
