The British government unveiled data on Covid-19 contamination during the final of Euro 2021 on Friday. The sporting event took place at Wembley Stadium, in London, on July 11. According to a study, nearly 2,300 people who were in or around the stadium during the match were potentially contagious, reports the Huffington Post.
In addition, no less than 3,400 people who were in the area were said to have been infected, according to data from the British authorities. The study was conducted by the Department of Culture and Public Health England. It also reveals that more than 9,400 positive Covid-19 tests were identified on football fans during the competition.
England’s progress to the Euro 2020 final caused a “significant risk to public health across the UK”, according to scientists from Public Health England (PHE).
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 21, 2021
Don’t “let your guard down”
In its statement, the government said that the levels of contamination were not, however, higher than the prevalence of the virus in the country at the time of the competition. The authorities therefore considered that large events of this type could take place without problem and in a safe manner, if the participants remain vigilant. “These reports clearly show the need for us not to let our guard down,” said the Ministry of Health.
The authors of the study nevertheless explained that the presence of England in the final of the competition generated “a significant risk to public health across the United Kingdom”. In addition, they also indicated that the Wimbledon tennis tournament, which brought together more than 300,000 people, had generated only 881 cases. According to them, this difference can be explained in particular by a different behavior of the spectators during the competitions.
