By Health boss warns over ‘superspreader’ event
Health bosses have urged the organisers of Hull Fair to reconsider allowing the event to go ahead, warning that it will be a potential ‘superspreader’.
The travelling funfair is expected to arrive in Hull next month, after it was cancelled last year due to the ongoing pandemic.
Hull currently has England’s third-highest infection rate.
Speaking last month, Hull City Council‘s leader, Councillor Daren Hale, said: “Hull Fair, along with all the city’s major events, was sorely missed last year, so we’re delighted that it is able to return in 2021.
“I know we will all be looking forward to experiencing the exciting atmosphere and those familiar sights, sounds and smells.
“While the national changes to restrictions have made it possible for the fair to go ahead, we should remember Coronavirus is still in circulation and we should take the same precautions we do day-to-day.
“With that in mind, we will be advising visitors to the event to consider using alternative entrances into the fairground and visiting the fair mid-week when it is usually quieter.”
But local public health director Andy Kingdom said he was “really worried” by the risk of people “squashed together” passing on the virus.
He said: “There will be large numbers of people being squashed together in close quarters, particularly at pinch points in the fairground,
“It’s not just the fair itself. There’ll be people meeting in groups in pubs and bars before and afterwards and taking coronavirus with them if they’ve caught it.”
Over 800,000 people attended the fair when it was last held.
Mr Kingdom has urged anyone attending to get vaccinated and tested for coronavirus before and after the fair.
This year’s Hull Fair will be held from 8 to 16 October.
