Cornwall’s case spike is the perfect storm of visitors and lack of social distancing

A “perfect storm” of a huge influx of visitors and a lack of social distancing in Cornwall has led to a surge in coronavirus cases, business owners have said.

The south-west county has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks after visitors flocked there for summer holidays.

Figures calculated by the PA news agency using health agency data show both Devon and Cornwall had 500 cases or more per 100,000 people in the seven days to August 18.

A week before, the figure was 300 or fewer per 100,000 people.

On Monday, health officials said they were investigating 4,700 cases of the coronavirus that are suspected to be linked to the Boardmasters festival, which took place nearly two weeks ago.

Cases are spread across the country, but around 800 live in Cornwall, a council official confirmed.

Newquay Mayor Louis Gardner, who is also the Conservative councilor for Newquay Central & Pentire and owns a delicatessen in the town, said he had spoken to other businesses this week and they believed the rise in cases was down to a number of different issues. .

“We are seeing an increase in Cornwall as we have the highest number of visitors we have ever had,” he told the PA news agency.

“Our accommodation is at 100% capacity, our hospitality places are full, there is no social distancing, but I think these factors combined are having an effect. It’s a perfect storm.”

He added: “I would like to see more places in the city insisting on vaccination status, certainly all nightclubs or insisting on negative side flow tests. There is no reason why this cannot be done.

“I speak to people who are concerned about the increase in cases, but we don’t have a large number in the hospital. What we tell people is that if you come to Newquay, you have to be respectful to the people who live here.

“Don’t come down here thinking you’re on vacation and it’s not going to affect you because it absolutely is. You have a better chance of getting Covid coming here than if you stay at home.”

Veryan Palmer, manager at the family-owned Headland Hotel in Newquay, said seven of her staff out of a total of 211 are currently self-isolating after going to Boardmasters and testing positive.

She added that the independent business has a strict isolation policy and staff testing procedures, which has so far proved successful in staying open for the most part this year.

Mrs Palmer told the PA news agency: “We are very, very busy. We have a lot of people who miss going abroad and that’s how we first discovered Cornwall.

“The county is very busy at the moment and many businesses are closed because their staff are not isolating and recruiting for hospitality.

“We have a lot of space in our hotel so they can social distance in our grounds. I don’t think there is necessarily any increased risk. We are quite ruthless with our staff – if someone has tested positive, we make it mandatory that the staff who were around them are gone.”

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