The UK Set To Trial A Dozen Social Distancing-Free Events
A dozen test events are set to be held across the UK in April and May to trial the idea of crowds with no social distancing.
As revealed by Oliver Dowden, head of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the events in question cover major sporting fixtures, music award ceremonies and nightclub events.
At present, the PM, Boris Johnson, has proposed June 21st as the date by which practically all aspect of normal living can resume, including the removal of social distancing, yet Oliver Dowden has pinpointed a series of events before that date to trial having larger crowds in attendance than allowed by law at that particular time.
In a recent interview Mr Dowden specified that the events, which come under the umbrella of the Events Research Programme (ERP), will include the World Snooker Championship final on April 17th, the football FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on May 15th, and the BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena two days later. Other events targeted include a nightclub event, a comedy club night and more.
Mr Dowden is reported as saying that these test events will be crucial in finding ways to get fans and audiences back in safely without social distancing, however, they will be subject to the guidance of the science and medical experts. Mr Dowden said he will work flat out to make it happen as the government want to get the people back to enjoying what they love whilst ensuring some of our most important growth industries get back on their feet and confirming that he is fully focused on delivering these important steps towards a safe summer ‘all are craving’.
London’s 100 Club and Bristol’s The Exchange are set to try out a digital ‘health passport app’ called ‘You Check’ in a bid to reopen live gigs safely.
Venues in Liverpool are also set to take part in a pilot scheme to test crowd safety before coronavirus lockdown rules are eased this summer, however, UK festival bosses and scientists are reported to have mentioned earlier this month about the prospect and potential worries of large-scale events returning without social distancing this summer.
Dr Michael Head is a Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, has said that, while feeling optimistic for the summer, people should “be careful that we’re prepared for any new COVID variants that might impact on the vaccine.
“It is a very real possibility that these variants might emerge and become dominant in the UK and elsewhere to lower the effectiveness of the vaccines that we have.
“At the minute, policy dictates that all events can return from June. What we need to be careful of is that we don’t lose all caution and rush to the pub and these events.
“We need to exercise a little bit of common sense and pragmatism because there will still be a little bit of COVID knocking around.”
