Covid: More than 4,000 cases could be linked to Cornwall music festival

Attendees were required to provide proof of their Covid-negative status to gain entry

Festival goers watching Sam Fender during the Boardmasters music and surfing festival in Cornwall (Darina Stoda/Boardmasters/PA Wire)

More than 4,000 Covid infections have been reported that are thought to be linked with the Boardmasters music festival in Cornwall earlier this month.

Health officials are currently investigating some 4,700 cases following the event that took place in Newquay from 11 August through 15 August.

As many out-of-towners attended the festival, many of the cases are spread across the country, but a council official confirmed that around 800 of them were living in Cornwall.

The music festival, which featured Sam Fender, Gorillaz and Jorja Smith, and Foals, among many others, had detailed its Covid-19 policies on its website: “Boardmasters Festival will ask all ticket holders aged 11 and over to demonstrate their Covid-19 status via the NHS Covid Pass upon arrival at the festival gates before entering.”

The festival said it would require attendees to share proof of one of the following to gain entry: a negative lateral flow test, taken within 24 hours of arrival; proof of full vaccination (with the second dose received at least 14 days ahead of the festival); or proof of natural immunity, following a positive PCR test taken at least 10 but not more than 180 days ago.

Those with camping tickets were also required to bring a lateral flow test with them, to take on the third day of the festival. Campers were required to log the results of the test in the NHS Covid app and show their negative result to a festival official. Campers were then issued new wristbands for re-entry to the arena.

Anyone who tested positive at the festival was instructed to “immediately put a face mask on and wash / sanitise your hands” before making arrangements to move offsite and travel home.

While the festival encouraged the wearing of face masks, they were not otherwise compulsory.

Among those who tested positive after attending the event was Coventry councillor Nathan Griffiths. Upon receiving his test result, he tweeted: “Like many, I caught Covid at Boardmasters despite the mandated day 1 + 3 lat-flows. No complaints as I knew the risks, however, means either lat-flows aren’t reliable for such events, or Covid-positive people faked negative results. A lot to learn here for gov/event organisers.”

Professor Mike Wade, deputy regional director and NHS regional director of public health for Public Health England South West, said: “We are working with colleagues at Cornwall Council to monitor what impact the Boardmasters Festival may have had on Covid case numbers, and we are starting to see cases reporting that they attended the event prior to developing symptoms or testing positive.

“We will continue to monitor the data closely as we have throughout the pandemic.”

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 the 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 a best-practice at other large events.

“The system detected more than 450 people who would have otherwise 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 tool the extra steps this year.

“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.”

The reports of the spike in infections suspected to be linked to the festival comes as Cornwall has the second highest rate of new Covid cases in England.

According to an PA analysis, as of 19 August, there were 717.4 Covid infections per 100,000 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.