Boardmasters has responded to suggestions that the festival may be linked to a Covid outbreak in Cornwall.
Cornwall Council said 4,700 cases could be linked to the festival, which was staged in and around Newquay between August 11-15. Newquay now has three neighbourhoods with the highest infection rates in England,
The 50,000-capacity event featured headline sets from Foals, Gorillaz and Jorja Smith, as well as performances from Sam Fender, Kano, Mahalia, Jade Bird, Loyle Carner, Maisie Peters, Inhaler, The Snuts, Arlo Parks, Beabadoobee and Easy Life.
A spokesperson for Boardmasters said: “Since the government allowed live events to return, we have worked closely with Cornwall Council’s public health team, putting in place risk management measures above and beyond national guidelines. These included use of the NHS Covid Pass as a condition of entry, which was introduced during the government Events Research Programme earlier this year and is being recommended as best-practice at other large events.
“The system detected over 450 people who would otherwise have been at risk of passing on the virus and as a result did not attend our Watergate Bay site or left the festival early. We are grateful to them and everyone else who took the extra steps this year.”
The spokesperson added: “No event is able to eliminate risk entirely and the latest Test & Trace data includes reported infections among the 76,000 people who visited the festival or related activities at Fistral Beach, in Newquay and the wider area during the week of Boardmasters.
“We will continue to work with our public health partners to understand the extent to which attendance at the festival has contributed to the figures. We look forward to sharing our experience with our local authority partners and other large events so we can all continue to provide much needed economic benefit to our communities and entertainment to our loyal audiences.”
PHOTO: Laurence Howe/Boardmasters
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