BRAVO! ZERO COVID CASES PAVE WAY TO NEW FREEDOMS
BRITAIN’S road to freedom has been given a long-awaited boost after a successful test event resulted in zero Covid cases among spectators.
We can reveal that a pilot scheme at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre for the World Snooker Championship has recorded no follow-up cases of the virus.
The spectacularly successful trial means that the green light is now expected to be given for entertainment venues to reopen with full audiences from June 21.
There is now growing confidence that theatres, cinemas and concert venues will be able to welcome audiences back in full provided they adhere to a Covid certificate system.
As the nation’s vaccine rollout surges on, with 33 million first doses already dished out and daily deaths falling to 22 yesterday, the move will be an answer to the prayers of an industry battered by the lockdowns.
An industry source said last
night: “The initial findings from Sheffield have been what everybody has been praying for.
“We are now being told that it is pretty much a done deal that social distance requirements will come to an end on June 21 and to prepare accordingly.
“It seems everything is now pretty much in place and it’s just a case of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s and ensuring the remaining pilot events continue to run without incident.”
The move, which is set to be ratified by the Government if cases and deaths continue to fall, comes on the back of the successful Events Research Programme events, which include the snooker in Sheffield.
Each day hundreds of spectators have been attending the venue and the Express has been told that in the first week not a single positive Covid case was found.
The success has also enabled the Government to today announce that next month’s Brit Awards at London’s 02 Arena will be watched by 4,000 fans.
Audience members will not be socially distanced or required to wear face coverings once seated in the arena.
But all attendees must have proof of a negative lateral flow test result and provide track and trace details in case a fellow audience member receives a positive test after the event.
The Covid certificate set to be implemented will form three different strands:
ONE – People who have been vaccinated.
TWO – People who have had a test showing they have antibodies from having had the virus in the previous six months.
THREE – People who have taken a negative Covid test.
The next stage of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown is scheduled for May 17, when socially distanced performances will be allowed to resume.
It is understood that will be rubberstamped on May 10. Small scale productions in the West End should return, while many venues around the country have adapted outdoor space to allow for openair performances.
Since last summer, the Express’s Raise The Curtain crusade has fought to ensure our nation’s live performance industries survived being plunged into their biggest ever crisis by the pandemic.
Nica Burns, a West End producer and owner of Nimax Theatres, said her industry is ready to do “whatever it takes” to get back open, and says public support for certificates is “overwhelming”.
She said: “Above everything else people want to feel safe and this is the way to do that. A recent survey showed that 78 per cent of people support this measure and it’s on all of us collectively to make it work.
“It’s really important to say that the Government have really thought this through and it won’t exclude anybody.
“People who can’t have vaccines for health, religious or cultural reasons can still get a certificate to enable them to attend shows safely. But it is now so important that we re-open our economy and get all these poor people who have been without work back earning again.
“We are desperate to open at full capacity and, fingers crossed, that is going to happen from June 21. All we want is to get back on stage and do what we do, which is make people feel happy.”
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove is leading the Government review of Covid vaccine and testing certification.
It is thought that if the May 11 Brit Awards pass without incident and the May 17 deadline is reached, the green light will be officially given for venues to open on June 21.
The famous 980-seat Crucible Theatre operated at 33 per cent capacity for the first round of the snooker. It increased yesterday to 50 per cent, allowing almost 500 spectators inside.
A 75 per cent capacity crowd will be permitted for the quarter-finals and semi-finals next week before a full auditorium without social distancing is allowed for the final.
The spectators are required to wear masks inside the venue and nobody under the age of 18, vulnerable or pregnant has been allowed to attend.
THERE will be a standing ovation at the news that theatre curtains will rise again in England from June 21. Lockdown unfortunately put into question the old adage that the show must go on whatever is thrown at us, with entertainment venues, sports grounds and concert halls all sadly falling silent over the past year.
It appears the pilot schemes – including the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible in Sheffield – have been a success and normality can start to return and add sparkle and entertainment to our lives.
Last Christmas we asked if the panto season could go on... the scientist Scrooges said “Oh no you can’t!” but this year let us be hopeful it will be an “Oh yes we can!”
It is a good sign that the Brit Awards will be able to welcome thousands to the show, including 2,500 frontline Covid heroes.
However, the one concern will be that the reopening will be dependent on so-called vaccine passports or, as the Government calls it, a Covid certificate system.
It will be a major break in this country’s belief in personal freedom and protection of privacy that people will essentially have to start revealing their own medical status to strangers.There is always a difficult balance between public health and people’s rights and this scheme will need to be constantly reviewed and, by definition, temporary.
But for the creative industries and their audiences, reopening cannot come soon enough. Let us hope we see a new artistic surge in this country as we emerge stronger from the pandemic.