Covid in Scotland: More than 500 cases linked to TRNSMT
- Published
Up to 50,000 people descended on Glasgow Green for TRNSMT last month
More than 500 cases of Covid-19 have been linked to the TRNSMT music festival, new data shows.
About 50,000 people descended on Glasgow Green for the three-day event last month.
They had to bring proof of a negative lateral flow test to gain entry.
Public Health Scotland said 551 who tested positive for the virus reported having been at the festival around the time of their illness when speaking to contact tracers.
Some 1,645 people were also found to have been close contacts of those who tested positive.
Public health expert Prof Linda Bauld said it was likely that some of these people were infected at TRNSMT but it was not a "super-spreader" event.
The figures were published in response to a freedom of information request from the Press Association news agency.
TRNSMT was one of the first mass events held in Scotland since the start of the pandemic.
According to Public Health Scotland, the figures do not mean Covid-19 was contracted at the event, only that those who spoke to Test and Protect recorded having been at TRNSMT around the time of their illness.
Following the event which started on 10 September, national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch said the festival was not responsible for a spike in cases.
Prof Bauld, professor public health at the University of Edinburgh, said it was not possible to say definitely how people caught the virus at the festival.
"I think it's certainly possible that some of those cases were infected at TRNSMT but we can't prove it," she added.
Decline in cases
Prof Bauld said there were always risks when mass events are held during periods of relatively high levels of infection in the community.
At the time of TRNSMT about one in 60 people in Scotland had Covid.
Be she added: "TRNSMT was not a super-spreader event.
"It's really important to recognise that in the weeks following the festival, we actually saw a decline in cases in Scotland and we certainly didn't see a surge related to that festival.
"But clearly it's not without risk and that may be reflected in these numbers."
In the week immediately following the festival, 30,928 cases of Covid-19 were recorded as part of the Scottish government's daily tally, meaning the number of confirmed cases linked to TRNSMT was 1.7% of the total.
Weekly Covid cases in Scotland hit a peak of just under 44,900 in the week ending 6 September - just before TRNSMT. They have since fallen to just under 17,600 in the week to 3 October.
There were 2,627 cases recorded by the Scottish government on Friday and 16 deaths following a positive test.
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- Published16 September 2021
