Members of Alabama High School Band That Led Off The Rose Parade Test Positive for COVID-19

Members of a 410-person Alabama high school marching band that led off the 133rd Rose Parade have tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home from Pasadena at a school that has now switched to virtual classes because of an outbreak.

An unusually large number of coronavirus cases at  Homewood High School spurred a suspension of in-person classes on Tuesday, according to Birmingham area school district officials.

Tournament Communications Director Candy Carlson said the Tournament has not been given any information that would indicate those positive cases are a result of the band’s trip to Pasadena.

COVID-19 and its impacts were taken very seriously throughout the planning and hosting of the Rose Parade, Carlson said in a statement.

“The recent surge of COVID-19 as a result of the Omicron variant is concerning for all of us. However, we are confident that our strict COVID-19 related protocols enabled us to mitigate those impacts for our parade participants and patrons,” Carlson said.

“The strict safety measures we implemented were in response to that threat,” Carlson said. “Of the 6,500+ participants in this year’s parade, 91% were vaccinated and the other 9% were required to provide proof of a negative test within 72 [hours of] our event.”

On Tuesday, the same day parents were notified about an unspecified number of positive tests following the trip to Pasadena for the Jan. 1 parade, it was announced that the entire school would switch from in-person to virtual classes because of a school-wide outbreak.

The Homewood Patriot Band, Alabama’s largest high school band, has made four previous appearances in the Rose Parade, which returned this year after the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 forced the first cancellation since World War II.