2,279 coronavirus contaminations were recorded among the spectators of a series of test concerts scheduled in Catalonia between July 1 and 11.
The number of cases has exceeded by 842 what experts expected.
The shows organized as part of the Canet Rock, Vida and Cruïlla festivals had welcomed a total of 70,000 spectators, reports
El Périodico
relayed by
the Huffington Post
.
But the study only covers 49,570 people present.
Standing with masks
The rate of contamination observed during these events turned out to be 58.6% higher than the forecasts of the organizers of the tests. The purpose of the latter was to study the circulation of Covid-19 during cultural events where the public is standing, wearing a mask but is not obliged to respect barrier gestures. Participants had been tested for antigen at the entrance to the concerts and were to undergo another screening 14 days later.
During these checks, 956 people who attended the Canet Rock festival were found to be contaminated.
The figures were respectively 857 and 466 for Cruïlla and Vida.
This last event was singled out following the large number of positive cases detected only four days after its end.
The reliability of the antigenic tests carried out before the shows has been questioned.
Unreliable tests?
The organizers of Cruïlla, for their part, estimated that the patients could have been infected before the festival.
In general, the effectiveness of antigenic screening is debated.
“When you walk in with a negative test, you might just end up slacking off.
It is very important not to have a false sense of security ”, analyzed Carmen Cabezas, Secretary of State for Public Health of Catalonia.
The latter also indicated that 271 people had come to festivals when they knew they were positive following a previous antigen test.
According to Carmen Cabezas, these festival-goers would have acted by counting on an inaccuracy of the results of the screenings before the events
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