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A PILOT MUSIC festival attended by thousands of people in Dublin was hailed as a success at the weekend, with just one concertgoer receiving a positive antigen test on arrival.
This person later returned a negative PCR test.
Results from similar pilot events in other European countries have indicated that live entertainment, with certain measures in place, can be done safely.
Governments are keen to get the entertainment industry, which has been one of the worst-hit by the pandemic, back in business, but the Delta variant has put a summer of concerts and sports events at risk.
And while well-organised tests events with strictly enforced public health measures have proven successful, real-world application of these measures has not been foolproof.
England
In the UK, the government decided to press ahead with its pilot events, despite the threat of the Delta variant and another coronavirus wave.
Most recently, three test events were run at Wembley Stadium, including England’s two domestic football cup finals.
A total of 30,000 people attended, with just eight positive results reported. However, just 15% of attendees returned PCR tests taken both before and after the pilot events.
These matches were part of a pilot event programme consisting of nine gatherings.
Some 28 cases were recorded among the 58,000 total attendees at the nine pilot events.
Of those 28 cases, 11 were identified as potentially infectious at an event, with the 17 others identified as potentially infected at or around the time of an event.
Circus nightclub in Liverpool, which hosted nearly 7,000 people over two nights, saw ten cases, while the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield saw six cases recorded.
The Brit Awards at London’s O2 Arena hosted 3,500 guests, of which none later tested positive.
An outdoor festival pilot at Sefton Park in Liverpool attended by more than 6,000 people, who did not wear masks, had two positivecases, as did a five-kilometre run at Kempton Park in southeast England from 2,000 participants.
All of these events took place in April and May, a period of “low prevalence” of the virus.
A second phase of pilot events was completed this month, including the group stage Euro 2020 matches at Wembley, the England versus New Zealand cricket test match in Birmingham, and the Royal Ascot horse race meeting. Results of these events are still being collected.
Spain
On the continent, one of the first high-profile pilot events was a concert that took place in Barcelona.
The Prima-CoV study in December 2020 involved 1,047 participants who were screened before the concert and were required to have a negative antigen test. Half of this group were allowed inside while the other half served as a control group.
Those inside were given a certified N95 cloth mask and mask-wearing was mandatory, though no physical distancing was required and people were allowed to sing and dance.
All participants had to return after eight days to get a PCR test. None of the participants who entered the venue returned a positive test result, though in the control group two people were infected.
At the end of last month, the first of three pilot club events was held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza, with 1,500 guests in attendance.
All guests had to either be fully vaccinated or provide a negative antigen or PCR test to gain access. There was also follow-ups to ensure that none of the participants have Covid symptoms. Results from this pilot have not yet been reported.
Belgium
In May, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation organised two events; one a seated concert at a theatre with a masked audience at 50% capacity (190 people) and the other an outdoor performance with 256 people, all of whom were wearing masks.
There were no positive results from the first event and just one positive case reported from the second, though this was a member of the technical staff and not one of the audience participants.
The Netherlands
After postponing last year’s Eurovision Song Contest due to the pandemic, the event returned this year, hosted by the Netherlands.
Due to health protocols, a maximum of 3,500 audience members were allowed to attend each of the events. All audience members had to have a negative Covid-19 test 24 hours before entry and there was regular testing of the crew and the contestants.
Audience members had to wear masks when moving from their seats and no standing was allowed.
Fewer than 50 of the 29,875 visitors to the nine Eurovision Song Contest shows were later found to be infected with the coronavirus.
Real-world results
Although a number of countries have managed to demonstrate how music and sports events and club settings could be operated safely, real-world application of the learnings from pilots may be more challenging.
At the end of last month, the Dutch government relaxed most coronavirus restrictions, allowing clubs and concert halls to reopen under a ‘test for entry’ programme.
Public health officials are now dealing with an outbreak linked to a nightclub in the east of the country, with 165 of the 600 guests reportedly testing positive since attending on the same night.
Public Health Scotland also revealed last week that nearly 2,000 people who travelled from Scotland to London for Euro 2020 events attended while they were infectious.
At least 300 Finnish fans who went to Russia to support their national team contracted Covid-19.
The World Health Organization has warned that the mixing of crowds in Euro 2020 host cities, as well as travel and easing of social restrictions, had driven up the number of new cases by 10%.
“We need to look much beyond just the stadia themselves,” Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Officer at WHO’s European office, said recently when asked about recommendations in the face of rising cases in London and Saint Petersburg.
“What we need to look at is around the stadia. How are people getting there? Are they travelling in large crowded convoys of buses? Are they taking individual measures when they are doing that?” Smallwood said.
She also added that it was also important to look at what was happening after the games, for instance if fans gathered in crowded bars.
“Should this mixing happen, there will be cases,” she said.
The WHO also called for vigilance around all major summer gatherings, not just around football games.
“What we know is that in a context of increasing transmission, large mass gatherings can act as amplifiers in terms of transmission,” Smallwood said.
- With reporting from AFP.
Yay keep it up with the positivity !
@Simon F: EY a full of Bs. They make things up as they go along.
@Levante Dublin: They’re right about one thing, there’s going to be a massive contraction of the economy and large increase in unemployment.
@Simon F: What dimwits to print something like that in times like this…..it’s straight from the ‘Nancy Pelosi School of Negativity”!
@Simon F:
* Meteor hits the earth*
Dinosaurs – “oh no… The economy!”
@Simon F: after the 1918 Spanish flu /WW1 when many millions died it led to massive economic boom through out 1920s /roaring 20s even after WW11 too ! who’s know what ahead of us all after this pandemic is over along has we are all still live!.one thing for sure our .carbon foot print will be rock botton!
@Conall: They were wrong about Anglo Irish Bank!
@Bobby wilson: that boom was really only seen in America, Bob. Whole different set of circumstances which led to it and the following crash. We are at the beginning of a Depression, the 2008 crash was never fully sorted out
@Conall: a dog with a mallet up his hole can see that happening
@Declan Edward: no one can tell how this will pan out or how long it will last so give it a rest with the doomsday stuff . You dont have a crystal ball and elderly people might be reading this and be trying to stay positive through these tough times
I think we should concentrate on getting True the crisis first,and be grateful if we don’t loose to many of our people,
Before we start putting a price on the lives of our most vulnerable people.
@Des Doran: through
@Getaldine Byrne: True.
@Getaldine Byrne: lose
@Getaldine Byrne: too
@Getaldine Byrne: Geraldine*
@Des Doran: which one, the coronavirus or the housing crisis or the decades of health care mismanagement which as crisiss go lined up with covid-19 is quite the equaliser in the big picture which is uncertain
@Des Doran: *before
@Des Doran: were you hiding during the last recession or werent you paying attention to the amount of daily suicides (mostly men) who either lost their jobs, homes, businesses?
It’s going to get worse, you trying to be positive won’t help them.
@John: ahahahahahaha brilliant. Thats for being pedantic Geraldine!
@Des Doran: well said
Journal. Publishing predictions from consulting firms looking at modern macro economics not comparable with a once in a 100 year global pandemic is not helpful. It’s pure speculation with no significant frame of reference. Not even 2008 banking crisis is comparable. Stop publishing guesses from researchers, you might as well ask Mystic Meg while you are at it.
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: destiny follows a red T-shirt
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: They make their money by scaring the crap out of industry so that companies hire their consultants. Great business. The biggest earners after this crisis will be consultants and people recruiting resulting in zero hour contracts, agency recruiting, self employed and a whole host of new ways to employ people.
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: we’re all locked in our homes on the basis of medical models and you’re not complaining but economic models are pure speculation worthy of Mystic Meg? Do you know what cherry picking means?
@Gordon Comstock: the economic models are not fit for purpose in this instance is what I’m saying. I do know what cherry picking means thank you for asking.
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: why, what specifically is wrong with the methodology employed? Or, and I’m sure this couldn’t be the case, are you dismissing them on the sole basis that you dislike or disagree with their conclusions and haven’t even observed the methodology employed?
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: Yes they are.
@Brian Maverick O’Flaherty: this looks like a majorly amateur output. Have the stimuli of each state been taken into account?
Yes you can guarantee gougers will always take the state handout to avoid paying invoices….and on and on. However those in similar industries, tgat ardent hand to mouth will prosper and grow.
As someone else pointed out, macro is only macro! Wonder what Dalkey’s favourite micro man thinks.
I see contraction as a great way for well run businesses to in turn drive the economy and its new wfh culture
When they say the effects will last for decades, what they mean is that they expect working people to bail out the billionaires and bankers again for the second time in a decade.
No way. It’s not happening this time. Tax the billionaires or expect kiss goodbye to this broken and rigged capitalist system.
@Nicky O’Donnell: Nail on the head id say Nicky ..Best comment ive seen exactly what it says on the tin.
@Derek Delaney: sounds great but not much chance of it happening.
@Nicky O’Donnell: The landlords are doing just fine. They have a “rent increase” freeze not a rent freeze. The poor darlings. But this government has not interfered with their right to collect their rent once this event passed. Immediately this ends more institutional investors will be invited in for yet another massive property sell off to partake of the highest rent returns in Europe. The safest place to put investment money is commercial property in Irish cities. Why is your rent so high?
@Dnom: Would you stop this c%#p? This “landlord” allowed her tenant not to pay rent this month and is still paying mortgage, out of her savings. Why don’t you ask why is the bank allowed to ask for mortgage repayments?
It’s interesting. The common flu kills more annually but we are willing to completely destroy our children’s futures over a virus that they have no problems surviving. This is all media lunacy followed by political correctness
@Dylan Moran: nah you’re right Dylan, all the world’s medical experts, who went to university for years to get their doctorates etc are wrong. I’d say you’re right.
@Dylan Moran: is that you Jim? Gemma?
@Dylan Moran: the death rate is higher with confirmed cases of Corona. So you’re wrong.
@Dylan Moran: not in any way interesting cos you’re lying. Puzzling but not interesting
@Dylan Moran: We have two choices. Let it kill off a pile of the weaker and older people and minimise the immediate damage to the economy. Or we can mortgage our childrens future. We can’t do the first because we’re human, so that sort of narrows it down.
@Conall: This choice should never have to be made. The age of the billionaires and wealth hoarding has to come to and end. And before anyone starts I’m no Paul Murphy.
@Dylan Moran: it’s twice as contagious as the flu and 30 times for deadly.
But do tell us more Dr. Moron
@Dylan Moran: The difference being there is a vaccine for the common flu. Oh and it would seem this virus is way more deadly than the common flu. You really do need to think a little before you post comments like that.
@Dylan Moran:
With all the restrictions in place it’s is killing a hell of a lot more than the common flu. How many do you think it would killed if we had no restrictions?
As regards our children’s future what do you think is going to happen? There will always be recession. But this is the first world. They won’t go hungry. To spite what you might think and many others think their happiness is not subject to the size of their checkbook.
@Dylan Moran: children getting a few months off school is not the worst thing that is happening right now. The people that are dying are dying alone in a awful way with no family members aloud get close to say goodbye. Wake up Dylan ye fanny head
@Dylan Moran: it is quite scary that so many people upvoted your comment (you are completely wrong by the way. I was going to say that you are misinformed but actually you are uninformed. The flu exists in an environment without social restrictions and kills roughly 500 people annually over the course of an entire flu season. Covid-19 is sweeping through a world with severe social restrictions and has only been in Ireland for a few weeks and has not even reached its peak)
@Dylan Moran:
Not sure where you are getting “destroy our children’s futures” from.
That was being destroyed already by global warming and the consequences of the neoliberal corporatism that is funnelling all the increase in wealth in the West to the 1%.
This will hopefully, when the dust settles, result in the destruction of the neoliberal economic paradigm that has been eating society like a cancer for the past 20 years or more.
Just as after the recovery from the destruction of WW2 led to a golden period of social democracy and productivity growth – there is no reason the same can’t happen again.
A highly regulated capitalism in a mixed economy with huge redistributive taxation systems will be the only hope of saving capitalism – yet again.
@Dylan Moran: Incredibly ignorant comment. Well before this virus hit our shores I was amazed by the amount of people who just dismissed it like “ah, sure the flu is worse” or “a few days in bed and you’ll be grand” . Sad to see the ignorance continue.
@Dylan Moran: no Dylan you are the looney…wait til it calls at your door.
Keep Up the conspiracy theories…it’s all the 5G and the government trying to control us
@johnny onion eye: Taking things from people who worked hard and earned them (most of the worlds richest people are 1st gen) has always worked well…
@Dylan Moran: the common flu has a one to one transmission rate. This has a one to 3.5 rate. In other words most people don’t get the common flu every year but this year nearly everyone will get this one.
@johnny onion eye: billionaires and wealth hoarding, with millions removed from. Real poverty, its not all negative, but I’d agree that social democracy sounds right
@james dimaggio: there is no ‘cure’ for the cold or flu – if so, please name.
@Dylan Moran: I’m just going to listen to Dylan from now on
Absolutely pointless piece. Nothing can be done about the state of the economy at this point. Let people get through this and when we’re all outside again we can face what’s coming.
When the wealth of countries is in private hands this is what happens, well done the West, American states competing against each other for lifesaving equipment.
Great another round of austerity, it would be nice if everyone around world decided on real change and shared the burden fairly through society
Were EY not the honest auditors of Anglo
Ah some good news for a change..
love the positivity, and love Colm Mccarthy,when you think things are not bad enough along comes old faithful Mr doom and gloom himself.
@JJandtim Dwyer: Oh yes, that tool McCarthy the embodiment of the saying ‘ knows the price of everything and the value of nothing’
Can we just deal with one problem at a time. Let’s just get through this, stay at home, stay well, stay alive, keep our family alive.
We’ll deal with the economy when we can get out our front doors again!
It’s all about saving lifes at the moment not saving money, we are heading into the eye off the storm we can count the cost later These ERSI Style reports remind me of sports pundits guessing the results and we know how good they are
From delaying taking proper action and going on lockdown for WEEKS… for fears of “hurting the economy”, to being forced to negotiate with banks (that we bailed out) for mortgage grace periods (that the banks will actually profit on) and trying to impose rental and eviction freezes so people don’t end up on the street due to a isolation to paying god knows how much in taxpayer money to private hospitals for use of their facilities and to purchase vital medical equipment and PPEs at astronomically inflated prices …late stage capitalism once again rears its ugly head
Does anyone know when the pubs will be opened again
Nice splash of positivity before we all go to sleep
Who cares about some half baked report from..EY. Any report written with “maybe” should be thrown in the bin it’s not a report it a prediction based on fluff.
@Shimo Tbay: There’s a few reports going around at the moment that say if you catch the COVID virus, maybe you’ll die and maybe we’ll run out of PPE. EY are a financial firm and not all financial predictions are rubbish.
Pray to God and the angels they find a cure soon.
@Koochulan: I was struck by a cartoon yesterday that had a jew, a christian, a muslim and a doctor holding up their tools to fight coronavirus. Guess which one was making the virus go away?
@Paul Cunningham: None of them.
Scaremongering at a time when we do not require further analysis. When this is said and done I will be supporting all that I can to bring this country back to a great place for my kids to live in. It will require us tightening our belts and going back to basics a bit. For now we should be getting through this. Most people are in the zone. Stay Safe for now! Keep it up!
@Phil Byrne: a lot of people were at basics before the pandemic.
What will change is people and their priorities…thus virus has shown that what people miss most about the lock in is people and human connection.
That we depend on low paid workers more than we realise.
That the majority of meetings are b&llsh!t, can be done on a 10 minute zoom call.
That companies have the capacity for employees to work at home and the work is done…companies will realise they are wasting money on expensive rents of office and start hot desks and half the size Of offices.
That young kids will remember being with their parents and seeing them
Or we could initiate a massive testing programme and try to get rid of the virus altogether.
@Adam Conroy: How does testing for the virus cure the virus Adam?
The job losses are mostly temporary, as long as the banks play ball and allow moratoriums on mortgages and the 1-2 months rent written off, theres no reason why the economy wont swiftly recover in May/June when everything is open again and people are reemployed to their previous positions, it’s not all doom and gloom like!
@Adam J: there’s uncertainty in the air and change is anxiety but you have the right attitude
@Adam J: moratorium is helvellyntly to a family with a mortgage in their home so who pays when the incidental renter doesn’t get paid the rent… Genuine question
@Adam J: in a perfect world you’d imagine everything goes back to normal wouldnt you? But exonomics is about people, and their behaviour, and right now were all on survival mode. Collecting essentials. This behaviour carries on for months. Add to the 300/400 even 500k out of work, thats alot of people not spending in the local economy. Thats a huge deficit in the Governments tax revenue. And as the Gov are borrowing to pay for the emergency revenue fund, they’ll have to pay it back on top of the Banking debt/Failed gamblers debt from 10 years ago. Expect more Gov cuts in essential services and projects and an increase in taxation.
EFF OFF Ey
Well done Journal, peoples mental health is a big issue now more than ever so keep piling on the misery. Disgraceful
@meh: bury your head in the sand so and dont face the problem. Honestly, some people dont like reality when its told to them.
@meh: me, troll? You’re actually trolling everyone by giving out about the Journal reporting on an economic study because its affecting your fragile mental state. Again, bury your head in the sand and fail to acknowledge what lies ahead for us all. Will they call a ‘pandemic’ when theres 10 people dieing everyday because they took their own lives? Like hell they will.
The 4th industrial revolution was coming! we we’re going to have to deal with this sooner or later, just a sooner than we thought!
@Cormac Dublin: Hopefully the politicans and the legal profession will come under the hatchet with the austerity train that is building up speed coming down the tracks
No need for 160 T D’s + all their advisors in Dail Eireann been grossly over paid. Cut out the agency system that is implemented by the politicans which is the major problem with the HSE been in a shambles for years
@Criostoir Mac Ranghaill: I’m more a fan of direct democracy politicians should not be a career!
God help the people working as they are the ones which will be paying for all this another tax if not they’ll increase the USC instead of cutting their own salaries
@John O Donoghue: Not if we organise and demand that the cuts start from the top this time
Prepare to pay to keep the status quo peasants..
There ya go, shorthand…
Just stay inside and do your bit to help the crisis. This moment is about the health of our peoples. Its far more significant than profit. There is enough food for us all. Money is paper – just paper. The ECB can print as much of it as we need.
@Imagine !: When they ask you in time “what did you do to help in the epidemic” make sure you can say I isolated and lived like a hermit to reduce the spread. If you can say that you will have done your bit. The economy will be fine.
Create New Skills. Learn from the past. It is how we’re fighting this virus. Reflect on our past
12% USC incoming
@Bitcoin Buddy: 16% corporate tax you mean
Suicides will be the biggest killer from all this. Not the Virus.
@Da Vid: also in todays news –
The latest survey of China’s purchasing managers suggests that some green shoots are peaking out, as companies return to work.
The Chinese composite PMI, which tracks activity across service sector firms and factories, surged back to 53 from a record low of 28.9 in February. That’s stronger than economists expected.Crucially, that lifts the PMI above the 50-point mark that separates monthly growth from contraction.Both key sectors of the economy reported a pickup:
Manufacturing PMI: Up to 52 in March, from 35.7 in February.
Services PMI: Up to 52.3, from 29.6 in February
@Dave Hammond: interesting stats. It’s all down to how peoples behaviour and mood changes here, how the Government brings back ‘normaility’ over the next few months in stages. Consumer confidence is going to take a while to return to reasonable levels,while assuming most of those 4-500k claiming unemployment at the moment, do return to work.
The new age of Autarky…
The journal need to get some pieces that offer a counter view – to balance out the BS negativity from EY that are just applying economic metrics and tools and stats that are not taking into account the actual circumstances – saying there is ‘recession’ because the growth is down nd economy is technically correct by these definitions but FFS the impact of a global pandemic there every market in the world needs to stop for health reasons is not something that can be just ignored – grounding planes and halting businesses is NOT the same as them going out of business and job losses due to lack of demand – it just isn’t the geniuses who compiled these numbers have NOT included all the counter measures that the ECB etc are taking specifically to tackle the damage – the ‘quantitive easing ‘ -and significant reduction in rates will help fuel growth at mush faster levels to try ‘recover’ from this ‘recession’ – you don’t need an MBA to figure out that these are extraordinary times and applying a bit of ‘cop on’ instead of just doom and gloom and the world will end nonsense is a pretty pathetic and pretty unbalanced narrative from EY – lets see how well this ages shall we – lets ask the authors in EY in 12 months time to stand over their narrative – I am happy to bet that they will just say that they were pointing out worst case scenario and showing how bad the job losses etc were and statistically speaking they are right on the numbers – yes things are bad – but anyone with a brain can see that the engines of this economy can be primed for a much quicker recovery than any previous recession in history – the pent up demand for people who will buy new phones , go out to eat , holiday with the family etc can all be projected to recover again reasonably quickly once the worst of this current virus is over etc – pretty disgraceful negative doom merchant piece imo.
@Dave Hammond: do you understand macro economics? Or just wishfull thinking?
@Da Vid: I don’t, can you educate us?
@Da Vid: I do – very well thanks – do you understand context ?
@Dave Hammond: i do, but i don’t buy into your own personal ‘context’. Will i ask my original question again perhaps?
Free travel in the EU still, Brussels will keep the member state’s airports open at all cost including human lives but more importantly why do you think Leo cancelled the Ireland Italy game yet as my 11 year old daughter pointed out when she said dad have they not already bought flights and hotels.. I said yes tut tut twits
I’m very interested in how capitalist countries will recover compared to centrally planned economies like China. I hope people are open minded about the clear advantages China will have and that they don’t succumb to anti communist propaganda.
Stop the negativity – we don’t need it right now. We have proven in the past that we can recover.
I wonder will they televise the Revolution, or will cutbacks mean it will lose out to the Olympics?
EY ? What were they called before hand and why the name change?
How phucking convenient.
Let kill off millions
Get the money from riches
Author could also use this time to learn how to at least spell the virus right.. or stick to Covid19… conravirus is a new one… God knows its spelling should almost be in autocorrect by now!!
More doom and gloom just what we want at this time tx!! True or not we’ve enough going around need more happy positive thoughts.
EY who were Anglo Irish’s auditors? Great bunch of lads
No shit sherlock
Fook with your stupid articles people need positivity this is a life and death situation
Comparing now to 2008 is a mistake. Take this on its own merits.
@Vladimir Macro: I Agree – Master Macro. ;-)
have your say