ORLANDO, Fla. — The Electric Daisy Carnival in Orlando brings out thousands of people each year, and many of them end up needing medical attention, records show.
The Orlando Fire Department said it took 65 concertgoers to the emergency room last year.
Two people died, one at the event and the other at the hospital.
Fire officials would not say what kind of sickness or injuries caused the people to need treatment.
“A lot of people do drugs. A lot of people do stupid stuff,” said Amanda Lorente, who plans to attend the event.
In response to the large volume of patients, the city has rolled out a new enhanced medical unit.
The tents for the carnival stretch down Tampa between Long and South streets, and medics will be able to help anyone who gets injured or sick on site.
A teenager planning to attend the festival said she wouldn’t be surprised if that the same number of people need to be treated again this year.
“This is our first time for all of us. We just want to have a good time with friends,” said Adrianna Molinares.
Barbershop owner Tony Williams said the tents will affect his business this weekend.
“They’re setting up a medical tent in front of my barbershop. They blocked the street off here,” he said. "This was all a total surprise to me this morning, so now it's too late to notify people and we're just out of business for the next two days."
Williams said the weekend is his busiest time and the shop usually makes about $1,200.
The city said it sent out notifications last week about the road closures, but Williams said neither he nor the Masonic Lodge where his shop is based got a notice.
“We’re going to lose income and the bills still continue to come,” he said.
The city said an Orlando police officer would help customers get to the barbershop, but Williams said that when the officer came to assist, he didn’t realize that the blockage left nowhere for people to park.
“He came and spoke to me and pretty much said at this point, there’s really nothing they can do,” Williams said.
Williams said he hopes the city will compensate him for the money he’ll be losing this weekend.
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