Thread by @_johnbye

The British Grand Prix is running at full capacity this weekend, supposedly as a "scientific, data-gathering exercise".

I'm there, and it doesn't really look that way to me.

More like a festival where everyone forgot we're still in a pandemic. 😬

theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul…

For starters, anyone who is under 11 or fully vaccinated over 2 weeks ago doesn't have to be tested for covid before, during OR after the event.

Everyone else needs a lateral flow test every 48 hours to maintain their NHS Covid Pass .. but don't have to do any after the event.

It's also not clear how many people who test positive after the race will be linked back to the event.

When PHS did this they identified almost 2,000 Scottish cases related to Euro 2020.

Has anyone seen any data from England games or Wimbledon yet? 🤔

https://twitter.com/_johnbye/status/1410219767206748161?s=19

The Silverstone checklist page does say that "attendees can provide some basic data" for the Event Research Programme to help link any covid tests they may take after the event to their attendance.

But it's entirely optional.

silverstone.co.uk/events/formula…

As for enforcing entry rules, just like at Wembley, staff at the gates are only doing a visual check of covid passes.

They're not scanning QR codes or (contrary to what it says on the Silverstone website) checking anyone's ID to make sure it matches.

https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1416336457132920837?s=19

Once you're in, masks aren't required. Apparently PHE asked for this because "they want to understand what happens"!

A couple of months ago, when cases were low, that *might* have made sense. IF this was a genuine trial.

With cases now sky high it seems rather cavalier.

Silverstone's MD says "the view is that in a large-scale, open-air, outdoor venue it is not necessary to wear masks".

But those rules also apply to the indoor museum and merch stores and crowded grandstands. Hardly anyone is wearing a mask anywhere.

My own seems appropriate:

The event is also using the same ticketing rules as any other year, with no assigned seating except on Sunday.

Which means you were free to sit in a different grandstand every session on Friday and Saturday if you wanted.

Great for spreading the virus as widely as possible. 🙄

So we don't know how many people came here with covid, because kids and double vaccinated adults didn't need to be tested at any point.

And we won't know how many people caught it here, because PHE don't seem to care, and we've not been asked to take any tests after the event.

Quite how this equates to a "scientific, data-gathering exercise" isn't clear.

There's also no sign of any "special consideration to reduce risk of transmission", as the Event Research Programme promises.

Quite the contrary, in fact!

gov.uk/government/pub…

The only ERP information we have so far is a report on the first wave of trial events, which took place in April and May. When case numbers were 20 times lower than they are now.

Even these found some evidence of likely transmission at trial events.

gov.uk/government/pub…

The Executive Summary claims the Event Research Programme is a "world-leading study" which would gather "large amounts of data before, during and after" events.

But the Observations say the study design was "insufficient" and few people took tests both before *and* after events!

But instead of making the study design more robust, later events seem to have thrown out any pretence of science, and don't even ask people to take tests after the event!

It all looks like a flimsy excuse to let major events go ahead as planned before restrictions are lifted.