Stockton Council cancel SIRF festival amid rising Covid-19 rates
Stockton Council say they are cancelling this summer's SIRF (Stockton International Riverside Festival) amid rising Coronavirus Rates.
A statement from the council says:
"The Government has confirmed it will go ahead with taking the next step on the roadmap out of lockdown, with most restrictions set to be lifted on Monday (July 19).
"But this comes at a time when the number of infections recorded in our Borough has soared to its highest level since the start of the pandemic.
"The third wave is here, and it is hitting the North East particularly hard.
"Our rates now are nearly 25 times higher than they were a month ago.
"And like a lot of large organisations, we are currently under serious pressure from the sheer number of staff that are currently having to self-isolate.
"Despite this, we will be able to get most of our services back to normal from Monday.
"But in light of the spiraling rates and the huge pressure on other public services, we have also had to take the very difficult decision to cancel this year’s SIRF."
In the wider Stockton borough - there were 1,800 new COVID-19 cases in the last week, a rate of 921.1 per 100,000 population - by the end of Wednesday.
On Tuesday alone, 333 new cases were recorded.
That’s the highest number of new cases recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
There are now over 100 people in hospital in North Tees and James Cook, and there were reports of 30 people being admitted to hospital in a 48-hour period this week
The Council statement went on:
"Staging a major event like SIRF is a huge undertaking involving public and private organisations as well as volunteers.
"We have taken this decision after consulting with partners and considering the strains that are evident across the many services that we rely on to help us deliver the festival.
"We’re very conscious that police, health, and fire colleagues are all experiencing staffing pressures. We do not want to add to that pressure.
"If SIRF had been a few weeks away, we might have held off making this decision at this point.
"Unfortunately, it’s just 13 days away and faced with this huge rise in infections I don’t see how we can, with any conscience, call on many thousands of people to come together at this time.
"If you’ve been to SIRF you’ll know that performances are typically enjoyed by crowds of people standing and sitting shoulder to shoulder.
"In light of the very high levels of infection in our communities we just aren’t prepared to put people at increased risk.
"And it’s not just about protecting festival goers, it’s also about protecting staff and volunteers from all the other agencies we rely on to stage SIRF."