Andrew Marr believes he caught coronavirus in Cornwall during G7 Summit
The broadcaster told his show on Sunday he had a 'nasty' and 'bloody' bout of Covid-19, despite having been double-jabbed
Last updated 28th Jun 2021
Andrew Marr has revealed that he has had Covid and thinks he caught it during the G7 Summit in Cornwall.
The broadcaster told his Sunday show he had a 'nasty' and 'pretty bloody' bout of the virus, despite being double-jabbed.
He opened the programme by revealing coronavirus was the reason he was not on-air last weekend.
He then told London Mayor Sadiq Khan he thinks he caught it covering the G7 in Cornwall.
"Let's talk about Covid in London. I've been a victim, although I think I got mine at the G7 in Cornwall".
The presenter, who suffered a stroke several years ago, later told infectious diseases expert Sir Peter Horby he had been vaccinated quite early in the process.
He admitted he had no idea at first because his symptoms started like a summer cold.
Andrew Marr asked Sir Peter, who chairs NERVTAG (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group), if he was unlucky.
Sir Peter replied "I think you were", before reminding viewers that while vaccines are effective at preventing hospitalisations and deaths, they are less effective at preventing infection.
Andrew Marr later asked: "My early symptoms were somply like a summer cold and I had no idea for a while that I had Covid-19 at all. I'm wondering whether the symptoms listed on the NHS website at the moment are out of date"?
Sir Peter Horby said it is being looked at, answering: "There's various systems in the UK to monitor the symptom clusters that we're seeing in people who are testing positive for Covid-19 and we update the symptom list. At the moment, there is some suggestion that the symptom profile might be slightly different but not any evidence yet that's strong enough to change the case definitions and recommendations".
Whilst Sir Peter was not asked about the safety of major events during lockdown, Andrew Marr's revelation has reignited the debate about the summit and Cornwall's recent spike in coronavirus cases.
In the seven days to 22nd June, Cornwall had recorded 859 new cases of coronavirus, with a case rate of 150.2 per 100,000 people.
In the week to Wednesday 23rd June, Cornwall had recorded almost 400 new cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus.
Piers Morgan was among those who were quick to tweet the news, a post which has since had more than 13,000 interactions and retweets.
However professionals and medical experts have also waded into the debate, including Commisioner of the Hamilton Commission, Dr Zubaida Haque.
She tweeted: "In light of the fact that Andrew Marr has revealed that he caught Covid (despite being double-vaxxed) from covering the G7 Summit 2021 in Cornwall, can we please talk about implcations of international travel, mass events and what high infection rates might mean for our vaxx prog?"
Professor Chistina Pagel, Director of the Clinical Operational Research Unit at University College London, retweeted Dr Haque's post, commenting: "Also I remember various people being very rude to and about some of my colleagues for saying G7 was a superspreader event which it clearly was, especially for staff in the hospitality industry in Cornwall. I wonder if they'll apologise?"
Both Cornwall Council and Number 10 have repeatedly insisted that they do not believe the G7 Summit and Cornwall's spike in coronavirus cases are connected.
The councillor in charge of public health, Andy Virr, described those claims as 'conspiracy theories' and warned they are distracting from vital public health messages.
Dr Ruth Goldstein, Cornwall's Director of Public Health, previously said: "It has started to increase since the opening up of the second part of the roadmap. This was where we started to open up hospitality again and people were encouraged to meet up and enjoy life, and we need to do that to help mental health.
"Initially we didn't see an increase in our numbers, but almost exactly three weeks later we saw our cases rise again.
"We knew that as we went through the roadmap we would see our cases increase - Cornwall is a destination and people come here.
"The biggest impact here is the Delta variant, most of our cases now are the Delta variant. It is just so easy to transmit and transmit within days".
Dr Goldstein said the highest numbers of cases were in visitor hotspots in Falmouth, Newquay and St Ives and that it was people in the 16 to 25 age group who were accounting for most cases, mainly down to that age group not having received the vaccine yet.
She added that it was hoped that as the vaccine rollout continues to those over 18 this week the numbers may start to fall, but that it was not likely that any impact would be seen for at least two weeks or more.
Cornwall Council is urging people to get tested twice a week and stick to hands, face, space and fresh air to help slow the spread of Covid, as well as coming forward for vaccinations.
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