Almost 5,000 new Covid cases 'potentially' linked to Cornwall's Boardmasters
Public health officials say they won't know the true picture for another few days
Last updated 24th Aug 2021
It has been revealed that almost 5,000 new cases of coronavirus could potentially be linked to Cornwall's Boardmasters festival.
Public health officials in the Duchy say there are around 4,700 Covid cases where people have a link to the Newquay event, but they won't know the true picture for another few days.
Three quarters of those cases are among 16-21 year olds and 800 of the cases are here in Cornwall, with the rest among people who travelled down for the festival.
Dr Ruth Goldstein, Deputy Director of Public Health in Cornwall, made the comments during a coronavirus media briefing on Monday afternoon.
Cornwall Council said that Covid-19 safety measures had been taken ahead of the Boardmasters festival and they currently have 'no regrets' about the event having gone ahead.
Around 50,000 people descended on Fistral, Watergate Bay and the Newquay area for the festival following two cancelled events due to summer storms and the pandemic.
Dr Ruth Goldstein said: "Whenever you put a number of young people together, or a number of people together, in close proximity for a large number of days to party we sadly are going to get cases, because what we know about Covid is that it's a very sociable disease, it likes groups of people and it likes groups of people who get close together.
"We put in an awful lots of measures, with the Boardmasters team, to try and ensure that the festival was done in as Covid safe way as possible. And obviously festivals like this can go ahead, which is why it did go ahead, as there is no legal reason why they can't".
Organisers have issued an updated statement, saying they will continue to work with public health officials to understand the extent to which the event has contributed to the figures.
During the briefing, public health officials also revealed that Cornwall currently has one of its highest ever Covid case rates since the pandemic began.
It currently stands at 529 per 100,000 people in the Duchy.
The highest case rate is among the younger 16-29 age bracket with officials saying many are still to get vaccinated.
Around 30 people with the virus are currently being treated in hospital in Cornwall, and some of those patients are in their thirties.
Rachel Wigglesworth, Director of Public Health in Cornwall, said: "Of those people who are in hospital, around 60 percent are unvaccinated, so we clearly know that having a vaccine has an important impact on preventing illness and hospitalisation.
"We are seeing a range of ages in those people who are in hospital, and it does include some younger patients".
Public Health England added that the Covid rate is increasing nationally, but is faster across the South West and in Cornwall.
Public health officials say it is down to a number of reasons, including hospitality, the Delta variant being highly transmittable, Boardmasters and an influx of summer tourists.
But they added that the number of people becoming seriously ill is much lower than at the start of the year, when there were over 160 people in hospital with the virus in Cornwall.
Doctors say this is down to the success of the vaccination programme.
That has again been further extended, with all 16 and 17 year olds now being invited to get their first jab.