Following the news that just 15 people had tested positive for Covid-19 after attending one of the government pilot events, Liverpool Public Health confirmed none of these cases came from Liverpool events.
The city hosted four of the nine successful events as part of the national Events Research Programme (ERP), with a total of 13,258 people attending The Good Business Festival, two nightclub events hosted by Circus and the Sefton Park Pilot music festival.
The Change Business for Good event, the kick-off event for The Good Business Festival being held in Liverpool this year, saw nearly 400 business leaders and event professionals gather at ACC Liverpool in April.
All attendees were required to take a lateral flow test ahead of the event – a negative test would allow them access. However, this was the only Covid-safety protocol. Wearing masks and social distancing was entirely optional.
Professor Iain Buchan, Dean of the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool, said: “The Events Research Programme in Liverpool demonstrated the importance of close working between events organisers, local public health teams and eventgoers in delivering the Covid safety net needed to make events as safe as possible over the coming months.
“Timely data and quick action to trace and test contacts of people testing positive, both before and after events, was key to containing potential outbreaks.
“We identified room for improvements such as ensuring people do not attend if they feel even slightly unwell – not just those with classic symptoms of Covid-19; maximising ventilation even in large indoor spaces; incentives to return PCR tests for research purposes; and automating the issue of tickets only after an assured negative test in the day running up to the event.
“There is more to learn from improved Covid-safety measures as we welcome events back, and Liverpool will keep producing the evidence needed to secure enjoyment of events for us all.”
Scientists found the testing, data and contact tracing systems worked well, with key information being available to public health teams before the events which allowed contacts of potential cases to be traced quickly.
The research team also found that between 25 per cent and 43 per cent of people returned a PCR test after the event, with the Sefton Park Pilot festival seeing three times the number of the other Liverpool pilots due to the incentive of winning tickets to future gigs.
Every Covid-19 test result for the 2.6m population of Cheshire and Merseyside was examined before and after the events, with 96 per cent of tickets linked to test results. The results showed there was no evidence of any substantial spread of the virus around the pilot events.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
