FUNFAIR SET UP NEXT TO CITY COVID TEST CENTRE
WASPS GET VIRUS ALL CLEAR FOR BIG FINAL
COVENTRY residents have slammed a funfair being setup for half-term - just yards from a Covid-19 testing centre.
The Pleasureland Theme Park fair has arrived in the car park of the Ricoh Arena as the number of coronavirus cases in Coventry continues to rise.
It will run from October 22 to November 1.
But some residents have blasted the decision to set up the funfair for the half-term holidays just a stone’s throw away from the regional Covid19 testing site on the other side of the A444 as “barmy”.
Tommy Wilson, owner of the Pleasureland Theme Park experience which is run by Wilson’s Amusements, said his fair met all the Government requirements to make it Covid safe and people had more chance of catching the virus while shopping.
This week, Coventry saw a 41.7 per cent rise in cases from the previous seven day period.
It’s infection rate is also well above the national average.
While some said it was a reckless time to push ahead with a half-term funfair, one person has argued that it provides an example of how the country is learning to live alongside the virus as Brits carry on with the “new normal”.
Mum-of-two Julie Porter, 39, a library assistant from
Coventry, said: “I think its bonkers to open a funfair in the current climate - let alone over the road from a testing centre.
“I can’t go and sit with six friends in a pub after 10pm but I can go and cram onto a ride with complete strangers, it doesn’t make sense.
“God knows how many people will have used those rides before me as well. It is surely a breeding ground for a virus. How are they going to track and trace? They just can’t.
“Nobody is going to be social distancing while walking around a funfair and queuing for rides, I think its completely barmy and sends out more inconsistent messages.”
Factory worker Tim Barnes, 55, a dad-of-one from Coventry, added: “People getting tested for the virus can easily just walk straight over the road and visit the fair.
“It’s certainly going to be tempting, being that close.
“You would think they would show common sense and stay away but the one thing I have seen the most during this pandemic is people lacking commons sense.
“So many are not following the basic rules on face masks and social distancing and how can you enforce that at a funfair anyway?
“If nothing else, its got to be
Britain’s bravest funfair. To set up a fair next to a covid testing centre takes some guts - or maybe just stupidity.”
University student Rueben Lowe, 19, of Coventry, added: “I think it just highlights the confusion across the UK surrounding Covid.
“You’ve got Wales and Ireland going into full on lockdown and yet you can go to a funfair in the Midlands - one of the most densely populated areas of the country.
“Its certainly symbolic of how we are literally trying to learn to live alongside the virus. It’s a powerful example of what they are calling the new normal.
“You’ve got both extremes of current life - on one side of the road you have people getting tested for a killer virus and on the other families having fun at the fair.
“It’s crazy when you think about it.”
Owner Tommy Wilson said: “We are one of the safest fairs in the country, our cleaning regimes are second to none and we do everything we can to keep our customers safe.
“We operate a wrist band policy to keep numbers down, we are running at 60 per cent capacity so social distancing is easier to maintain.
“There’s hand sanitisers on every ride and stall, which we make people use, and we clean the rides regularly with an industrial cleaning sanitiser which lasts for 28 days.
“I have my children and grandchildren here and I am not going to do anything to jeopardise their health.”
Mr Wilson added: “You are more likely to catch the virus in your local Tesco with lots of people handling the same items and putting them back on shelves.
“I understand some people are still frightened but we must find a way to keep going. Everybody who has visited our fairs this year has given us tremendous feedback on how safe they felt. We meet all health and safety guidelines.
“The testing centre just happens to be over the road after the Ricoh moved the car park location at the last minute.
“There’s not much we can do about that but we continue to operate in a safe and responsible manner.”