Health chiefs probe 5,000 Covid cases over claims new Delta strain linked to Boardmasters festival
HEALTH chiefs are looking into 5,000 Covid cases in revellers who partied at a festival in Cornwall.
Organisers at Boardmasters say there's "no evidence" of a new sub-strain of the super-infectious Delta mutation - after claims a variant linked to the event has emerged.
Officials at Public Health England (PHE) say the situation is being "constantly monitored".
Some 53,000 people attended the event, 10 per cent of whom later tested positive for coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Cornwall has become the UK's coronavirus hotspot, with Government officials urging people to keep their masks on and socially distance.
And there are concerns of a spike in cases after 500,000 people attended festivals around the country at the weekend, with Reading and Leeds, Creamfields in Cheshire and Victorious in Portsmouth all taking place.
A senior official in the South West said many of the infections among young people in the region are directly linked to the festival,
But Boardmasters has hit back against claims of a new sub-strain - and says no genomic evidence exists to back up the reports.
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It's understood hospital staff in Devon and Cornwall who are facing a rise in patients refer to the "festival variant" between themselves.
One health official in the south west said cases are being driven by the Delta variant - and said there are fears the strain could mutate again.
The South West is home to eight of the top-10 worst-hit areas in England.
Figures also show that around half of all infections in England are among those under 30. Those aged 10 to 19 are suffering the highest rate of cases.
PHE's Covid Strategic Response Director Dr Susan Hopkins said the situation is being "constantly monitored".
“We are consistently reviewing all sequencing data to monitor and assess the emergence of new variants and do this for any surge in cases," she said.
It comes as:
- A new Covid variant is the ‘most mutated so far’ and already in UK, scientists warn
- Virus checks at Heathrow are causing 'brutal' delays
- A new surge is feared as millions of unvaccinated youngsters head back to the classroom
- Boris Johnson is said to be growing frustrated with advisers over a delay to jabs for 12- to 15-year-olds
- A dad-to-be and former ITV contestant has died after refusing the vaccination
And a senior Government scientist has warned that festivals are likely more dangerous than other public gatherings, including football matches.
Professor John Drury, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) – a sub-committee of SAGE - said more must be done.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Prof Drury said: “Different mass events have been found to be associated with very different rates of infection, and one factor explaining this is the crowd culture.
“The [Government’s] Events Research Programme noted that fan behaviour at the Euros was very different than at Wimbledon, for example.
"And we can expect greater physical intimacy– touching, close interaction, hugging, sharing drinks – at a music festival than at other large events.
“One of the key reasons that some people are engaging less with these basic protective behaviours is that the Government has basically said ‘it’s safe now, it’s fine, you’re not going to die’.
"The problem is of course that 100 people a day are dying. We need to support new norms around safety at the festivals.”
'HUGGING' FUELS BOOM
Of the 312 local areas in England, 199 - 64 per cent - have seen a week-on-week rise in rates and 113 - 36 per cent - have seen a fall.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly continue to have the highest rate, with 4,705 new cases in the seven days to August 23, the equivalent of 817.5 per 100,000 people.
By comparison, the Maldives - which is on the UK's travel red list - has 151 cases per 100,000.
West Devon has the second-highest rate, up from 358.0 to 696.5, with 391 new cases.
Sedgemoor in Somerset has the third-highest rate, up slightly from 652.1 to 688.6, with 850 new cases.
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It's thought a boom in staycations in the South West is to blame for the surge.
Cornwall has just one major hospital, in Truro, which is now on the NHS’ highest alert level after being overwhelmed with both Covid and non-Covid patients.
