Every twentieth visitor was infected with Covid-19 at a festival in Utrecht, despite the hygiene measures in place. The organizers are shocked, the health authorities are expecting further infections.
It should be a nice weekend of celebration for everyone involved, after the cultural scene has largely stood still for the past 16 months. But apparently the hygiene measures at the “Verknipt” festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, were not sufficient. Around 1000 visitors were infected with the corona virus at the open-air music festival. According to the health authorities on Tuesday evening, the numbers could increase. The organizers reacted in shock and emphasized that they had complied with all requirements. First the “Spiegel” reported about it.
Partiers had to be vaccinated, recovered, or tested
Around 20,000 people attended the two-day open-air festival “Verknipt” (Crazy) on July 3rd and 4th. At least 448 visitors were infected on the first day, and another 516 on the second day, the ANP news agency reported. Festival goers had to prove that they had been vaccinated or tested negative. According to the organizers, the entrance was strictly controlled. Various time windows have been set up for visitors to prevent crowds.
The Netherlands had initially lifted almost all corona measures on June 26th and also allowed major events if visitors had a negative test result or proof of vaccination. After an explosive increase in infections, some loosening was lifted again.
According to the health authorities, adolescents and young adults are primarily responsible for the large increase in infections. The main sources of infection were festivals, discos and restaurants.
, DPA
