Nearly 5,000 COVID cases have been linked to Boardmasters Festival

Boardmasters Festival has been linked with nearly 5,000 COVID cases, according to local health authorities.

The Newquay festival took place from August 11 to 15, with more than 50,000 in attendance. Cornwall Council is pushing for those who feel unwell to get COVID tests, with symptoms of COVID including sneezing, fatigue, headaches also being signs to get a test, alongside the usual symptoms.

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It's thought that 4,700 people who have tested positive for COVID in the last 7 days either attended Boardmasters Festival or were connected to it in some way.

Cornwall Council considered cancelling the festival following an alarming rise in cases in the area but decided it could go ahead with supervision from their staff to make the event as safe as possible.

Rachel Wigglesworth, from Public Health Cornwall, said: “COVID cases have been rising steadily across Cornwall over recent weeks – particularly in our tourist hotspots. Big events and mass gatherings like Boardmasters are now permitted and our public health team worked closely with the organisers over many weeks to ensure the event was as COVID-safe as possible.

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“Our advice to residents, visitors and anyone who attended Boardmasters also remains the same – if you have COVID symptoms then isolate immediately and book a PCR test. If you have no symptoms, please continue to test twice a week with rapid lateral flow tests, which are available for free from pharmacies or can be delivered to your home.”

Boardmasters released a statement regarding the COVID cases linked to the festival, detailing that "450 people" had been turned away who were at risk of transmitting the virus.

"Since the government allowed live events to return, we have worked closely with Cornwall Council’s public health team, putting in place risk management measures above and beyond national guidelines. These included use of the NHS Covid Pass as a condition of entry, which was introduced during the Government Events Research Programme earlier this year and is being recommended as best-practice at other large events."

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"The system detected over 450 people who would otherwise have been at risk of passing on the virus and as a result did not attend our Watergate Bay site or left the festival early. We are grateful to them and everyone else who took the extra steps this year."

"No event is able to eliminate risk entirely and the latest Test & Trace data includes reported infections among the 76,000 people who visited the festival or related activities at Fistral Beach, in Newquay and the wider area during the week of Boardmasters."

"We will continue to work with our public health partners to understand the extent to which attendance at the festival has contributed to the figures. We look forward to sharing our experience with our local authority partners and other large events so we can all continue to provide much needed economic benefit to our communities and entertainment to our loyal audiences."

If you attended Boardmasters last weekend and you feel unwell it's recommended you take a PCR COVID test.

[Via: NME]

Tope Olufemi is Mixmag’s Digital Intern, follow them on Twitter