Those were days that the country will not soon forget. When the English national team first reached the semi-finals and then the final at the European Football Championship, there was a state of emergency in London. So many people gathered around Wembley Stadium and many other places in the city that it didn’t take much imagination to imagine how much the coronavirus would spread on those days. Well, six weeks after the final, it’s official: The whole spectacle was a super-spreader event.
In any case, the figures from Public Health England for the two games on July 7th and 11th are clear. 2295 of those present in and around Wembley Stadium should therefore have been most likely infectious at the time of the final. 3404 other people are said to have been infected around this event. In the semifinals, 375 fans are said to have been infected and infected in 2092.
The result of the investigation does not shed a good light on the security concept of the British authorities. Because actually it was the declared goal that only people should come to Wembley Stadium who could provide evidence that they had been fully vaccinated or tested negative for the corona virus. But that was not always checked by the supervisors in front of the stadium.
In addition: the required test was allowed to be carried out by the visitors themselves. It was also possible to just pretend to take a test – all you had to do was upload the self-test number to a NHS website and state that it was negative.
One health professional says, “This should be a warning to all of us.”
It was also easy to see that the security forces at the stadium were simply overwhelmed. Especially in the final between England and Italy, thousands managed to enter the stadium without a ticket. Sometimes chaotic scenes took place. Supporters of the English national team violently took action against ticket inspectors and threw barriers over the pile.
Even before the European Championship games in London, there was strong criticism of the British government. Health experts had accused those responsible of admitting up to 60,000 spectators in the stadium under pressure from Uefa. The government has always insisted that everything is done to ensure that the event is as safe as possible.
After Public Health England released the numbers, Jennifer Smith, deputy medical director for the health authority, said the data showed “how easily the virus can spread when in close contact”. He added, “This should be a warning to all of us as we slowly try to get back to normal.”
After the incidence in Great Britain rose sharply after the European Football Championship, the value fell again. It is currently around 310. In view of the ongoing successful vaccination campaign, however, the government does not use the incidence, but above all the number of hospital admissions as a yardstick for its corona policy. As long as these remain at a low level compared to winter, the government wants to stick to its easing course.
In England, almost all corona restrictions have been lifted since “Freedom Day” on July 19. Across the UK, 88 percent of people over 16 have had their first vaccination; 76 percent are already fully vaccinated.