Councillor calls claims of a link between G7 and Covid cases in Cornwall 'conspiracy theories'
Andy Virr is worried that blaming the summit for a recent rise in cases could distract from vital public health messages
The Cornwall councillor responsible for public health says he is worried that continued reports of the G7 summit being responsible for the spike in Covid-19 cases could distract from vital public health messages.
Andy Virr, Cabinet member for adults and public health, was responding to continued claims that it was the summit of world leaders which led to the increase in positive cases over the last week.
Cllr Virr said that there were "conspiracy theories" trying to link the increase to the recent G7 summit in Cornwall which saw thousands of people come to the Duchy from all over the world.
The council, public health officials and the government have all stated that there is no evidence that the G7 is linked to the rise.
Cllr Virr said on Wednesday: "It would be very frustrating if this whole story about G7 and coronavirus distracted from the key messages that we want people to hear.
"It will be desperate if people stop hearing the messages about hands, face, space, ventilation, lateral flow testing and vaccination".
There have been claims from some that the council and government are withholding information which shows that there is a link between the G7 summit and the Covid-19 outbreaks.
But Cllr Virr said: "We have nothing to cover up here, we want to be as open as we can and help to stop the unfortunate rise of the virus".
Public health officials at the council said that the majority of cases in Cornwall were amongst the 16 to 29 age group, those who had not yet been fully vaccinated.
They said that because a lot of that group work in the hospitality sector, combined with the relaxation of socialising guidelines and the large number of visitors in and out of Cornwall, this was the reason why cases had risen.
In addition they highlighted that there was a continuing push to increase the amount of regular testing which would also lead to a higher rate of positive cases as many people were still asymptomatic.
And they highlighted that most of the new cases were of the Delta variant of Covid-19 which is much more transmittable between people.
They also said that while there had been a large number of people coming into Cornwall for the G7 summit and to work in association with the event there had been a rigorous testing programme for all involved and that where there had been some isolated cases public health had been able to isolate those affected and effectively trace their close contacts.
Rachel Wigglesworth, director of public health in Cornwall, said: "These young people are largely unvaccinated, will often work in our busy hospitality industry and in towns that are popular with young people – Newquay, St Ives and Falmouth".
She said that now that vaccinations were available for all people aged over 18 it was hoped that this could help slow the spread of the virus.
Mass vaccination centres at Stithians Showground and the Royal Cornwall Showground are also set to open for drop-in vaccinations on Sunday to help increase the number of people getting their jabs.
Ms Wigglesworth said that the rise in cases was directly in line with the relaxation of lockdown rules as it gave more people freedom to mix and socialise – the same reason there was a rise at Christmas when people were also allowed to socialise more.
She said: "There has been speculation of the increase being linked to G7 and, in particular, to the sites in Falmouth and St Ives. There isn’t anything in the data to suggest that is true".
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked whether the number of cases was expected to continue to rise and if it did whether that would affect Cornwall having all regulations eased next month.
Ms Wigglesworth said: "It is difficult to know quite what will happen next, that will depend on vaccine uptake and how people behave in social interaction".
She added: "We will be looking at whether, on the 19th of July, we can relax further measures or if we need another in-between step before that happens. We wouldn’t expect any local or regional restrictions, that is not in the national approach".
Public health officials will be looking at what the impact is on health services and whether the numbers are manageable.
Ms Wigglesworth said that public health officials would continue to take "an evidence based approach" and said that the test and trace system and the continued rollout in vaccinations would help the situation.
The council's public health chief Dr Ruth Goldstein said that the council was encouraging people to take twice weekly lateral flow tests which would help officials monitor where positive cases were and can take action to help prevent further spread.
She said that it was vital that if anyone has a positive test that they self-isolate.