Last month’s Green Man Festival in Wales has been linked to 71 cases of COVID-19, a number significantly less than other summer festivals.
After cancelling its 2020 edition, the festival returned to the Brecon Beacons from August 19-22, featuring headline sets from Caribou, Mogwai and Fontaines D.C.
Public Health Wales has revealed that Green Man, which hosted 25,000 fans, was reported as a “possible exposure” in data linked to 71 cases of the virus.
“Analysis of contact tracing data gathered by test, trace, protect has identified 71 Welsh residents with confirmed coronavirus where Green Man Festival was reported as a possible exposure in the seven days before showing symptoms,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.
“However, it is important to note that these cases are not necessarily attributable to transmission at the festival as Green Man would have been one of a number of exposures reported by cases prior to onset including, for example, socialising outside the festival, travel to and from the festival etc.”
Festival boss Fiona Stewart commented: “There was a lot riding on this and we didn’t want to let anyone down.
“From our post-festival questionnaire, the overwhelming response was that those attending felt we had done all we could to protect them from COVID-19 and that they felt safe, which was something that mattered a great deal to us.”
Fans at the festival were required to present proof of double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test result to be admitted to the festival.
Elsewhere, almost 5,000 coronavirus cases have been linked to this year’s Boardmasters Festival, while over 1,000 fans who attended July’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk tested positive in the days after the event.
Reviewing this year’s Green Man, NME wrote: “‘Four weeks ago, we didn’t know if this festival would happen,” Green Man boss Fiona Stewart tells the crowd before Tirzah closed the Welsh event’s first night, and this sense of near-disbelief permeates everything about the event’s first day, as 2021’s festival season kicks on against all odds against the stunning backdrop of Wales’ Brecon Beacons.”
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