The Isle of Wight public health boss is urging Isle of Wight Festival-goers to take precautions and minimise the spread of COVID-19, to reduce the impact on the Island’s already under-pressure NHS.
As part of his safety advice, Simon Bryant, the Island’s public health director, has asked ticket holders to bring lateral flow tests with them and has stressed the importance of continuing to test when home. The message to music lovers is not to travel to the Island, or go to the festival if they have symptoms and to take regular tests on site.
Mr Bryant has also advised those going to consider wearing a face-covering in crowded or enclosed spaces and to keep using hand sanitiser.
The Island is continuing to face a summer surge and is dealing with the impact of more than 2,000 new COVID cases, which were recorded over the 6-week school holiday period. However, new cases don’t necessarily mean hospitalisations or deaths, with 1 in 3 people not even showing symptoms.
This week the NHS trust said it is dealing with a ‘third wave’ of the pandemic. To cope, a second intensive care unit has opened but the chief operating officer, Joe Smyth, has already said it is ‘very, very full’. The Isle of Wight NHS Trust have refused to comment on how many people in hospital are unvaccinated.
Mr Bryant has tried to reassure Islanders that the festival has public safety at the forefront of its thinking and that robust COVID safety measures are in place. He says festival-goers are being asked to prove their COVID-19 status, either by being fully vaccinated, or through a negative test, or immunity.
Mr Bryant said:
“After over a year without the festival, I know how much music lovers will be looking forward to this iconic event.
Article continues below this advertisement “The festival is a major feature of the Island’s cultural calendar but this year we appreciate there may be understandable concerns about safety since the government’s easing of restrictions around live events.
“The organisers have taken considerable advice and guidance from public health, the council and other key stakeholders to arrange an event that is safe for both the residents of the Island and also those attending the event.”
“It’s really important to remember we all need to continue to play our part in keeping each other safe and minimising the risks from Covid.
“We’re asking festival-goers to do as the community do and take personal responsibly for their health and those around them, by following the practices we have all come used to over the past 18 months.”
What a lot of hot air, they won’t wear masks, there is no enforcement anymore… it should not be going ahead this year, plain and simple. Stop pretending that the council, festival organisers actually care about the islanders, hospital and the people attending the festival, because they don’t. All they care about is the cash. Mid October will see the islands covid figures spiralling upwards without a doubt. It’s not a fake virus, never has been, so all the unbelievers will vote this down without a doubt.
Totally Agree it should be cancelled even at this late stage with numbers spiralling out of control our 1 hospital wont cope of course with the organiser also being a councillor cancelling was never ever an option. Wheres our MP why isnt he doing more to put a stop to this Ive said it before & will say it again it should be cancelled this year & come back next year when hopefully things will be better. Who knows by then we may have better vaccines by then & have this terrible virus more under control. Who knows they may have a vaccine to wipe it out for good by then. You watch this comment get voted down.
Seeley is to busy attending bbq’s. The man has no backbone.
You are a total idiot! With a typical island mentality. You’ve had your vaccines, festivals are allowed to go ahead, restrictions are lifted. Learn to live with it!! Grrr
There is no way that the a crowd of 50,000 people can be monitored for Covid safety, even if the intent was there.
What measures can be enforced anyway ?, this is a recipe for disaster – listen to the NHS experts.
The Island will pay a high price for this event in terms of Covid infections.
It is a travesty that the Council did not cancel the event , assuming that they have the power to do so.
The small hospital that we have here will be really badly impacted in the weeks afterwards.
Profit rules again sadly, to hell with the impact on others.
I have attended several of the IOW Festivals and am a supporter, but Covid has changed the world.
The thought of a load of revelers at the festival all wearing masks is just that, a thought. No way will it become reality. I expect a few more responsible ones will but not the rest. It’s frightening enough on the buses as it is, but with loads of festival goers using the buses too, they should just have separate buses for them to try to keep the rest of us safe. If people can’t have the jabs but still have to go out to get shopping it’s awful for them, can’t stay inside for 3 wks or more to give any surge in virus time to dissipate. Total selfishness on the part of the organisers. Not caring about others seems to be a thing now.
They were strongly advised to cancel the event by the hospital, but the word from on high is you WILL hold the festival regardless, It must be all those £££s blinding their sight.
Strangely, il wager that is the only weekend the ferrys run without ‘technical issues ‘ as well.
If we listened to the NHS, then everyone would be locked down permanently, everyone would not be allowed to visit a GP face to face or visit a relative in Hospital, there would be no economy, no holidays, no fun, no nothing – just an empty and meaningless existence at the behest of a few jobsworths and tin foil hat wearers in the NHS.
Your sense of fun includes, judging by your attitude, to be placed on a ventilator and trying to breathe, even though it feels like your drowning….. Next year if things are better would be fine. The reason the NHS restricts visitors etc is because THEY are the ones on the frontline. If they go down with it, then it would mean no treatment for anyone at all. Jobsworths NOT AT ALL. Grow up up you idiot. You obviously don’t care about anyone else or anything else except you and your “fun”
jobsworths is correct – the NHS are not our overseers and have no right to dictate to us at all. Each person is free to make their own choices and no other person, irrespective of the outfit and job title they have changes that.
you can hide away indoors digby if you want, but i won’t be – i will be out enjoying myself
yeah and i bet you invade other peoples personal space too, glad i wound you up…. well i hope if you have job, you follow your employers rule, does that make you a jobsworth then ???????
Has he banned hospital staff from going or is that not permitted
Why ban hospital staff?
If you all want the festival stopped why don’t you all want football stopped? Take a look at how many premier league games took place this weekend 9 games with an average attendance of let’s say 35,000= 315,000 people traveled around this weekend watching football and it will be the same next weekend and the weekend after that.
Why should it be cancelled we have just let in over the last two months hundreds of thousand
visitors to the island, how many of those wore masks?
It’s doesn’t have public safety at its forefront it’s all about the money.
The festival organiser Wight link and red funnel.
cupid – that name you use, is so eighties
There’s nothing wrong with his/her name, I think it is rather funny, your name is very original, so seventies. Why do you moan about everything and nothing, you miserable old git. But I do agree with most of your posts tho….(I’m going to the festival, but I’m staying in my tent).
I can’t wait for the festival.
I will be there with no mask enjoying life.
#noboomers
Make sure to make lots of noise everywhere you go and breathe all over everybody, you can have the fun of knowing that you might have spread germs to a lot of people, and can delight in wondering how many of them might die as a result. There’s quite a few people unable to have the vaccines and anyone who lives alone cannot just stay in for however many weeks it takes if a spike in infections ensues. But obviously that would never bother the likes of you.
You seem like a happy soul. Enjoy hiding under your bedsheets!
Haha ha ha!!! Like that’ll happen rainbows and unicorns in a rose tinted world! Masks won’t exist there.. come on now!
Yes they probably will be ‘urged to wear a mask’ but you just know they won’t.
Just like people don’t bother to wear them on the ferries any more, even though they are requested to. I wonder why the covid numbers have gone up on the island and there are people being treated for covid in the hospital again – der !!
Sorry folks but covid hasn’t gone and it never will, it mutates – just like the common cold and flu and anyone can catch it.
SUPER SPREADERS. COVID will have a field day this weekend at the festival. Wear a mask. I totally agree, masks should never have been made ‘left to people’s common sense’. Many don’t have very much common sense and they certainly won’t be wearing masks at the festival. Whoever allowed this festival to go ahead will have to hang their head in shame in other 2 weeks time. 68 new cases of COVID in the last 24 hrs. This number has been steadily rising for the last month. Just wait.