Over 1,000 music fans who attended last month’s Latitude Festival later tested positive for COVID-19, government figures say
The event was held in Suffolk last month, the week after England dropped all restrictions on gatherings. It was organised as part of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP), meaning everyone in attendance had to provide proof of double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test.
Results from the event show that around 37,000 visitors attended the festival each day from July 21-24, and despite the entry requirements, 432 people were likely to have been infectious while at the festival.
1,050 people then caught coronavirus in the days after the event, with government figures suggesting 619 people contracted the virus around the time of Latitude.
Suffolk Public Health director Stuart Keeble said: “As Suffolk reopens once again and people attend busy events or attractions, it’s important that people continue to be considerate of others and wear a mask or keep their distance where appropriate.”
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden added that the data gathered from ERP events show that “we can reintroduce mass sports and cultural events safely,” but added that it is “important that people remain cautious when mixing in very crowded settings.”
Elsewhere, almost 5,000 coronavirus cases have been linked to this year’s Boardmasters Festival, it has been reported.
According to health officials, 4,700 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 confirmed they had attended the Cornish festival, which took place from August 11-15 and was attended by about 50,000 people, or had connections to it. About three-quarters of those who tested positive are aged 16-21 and about 800 live in the county.
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