Miss Zomboko
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- May 18, 2014
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Thousands of jubilant England fans gave up on wearing face masks and caring about social distancing in the fight against Covid last night as they poured out of Wembley following the Three Lions’ nail-biting Euro 2020 semi-final victory over Denmark.
More than 66,000 people packed the stands in Britain’s biggest post-pandemic crowd, with all supporters told to stay in their seat throughout the game, keep their coverings on whenever they stood up, and to avoid hugging and high fiving when celebrating crucial moments.
But extraordinary pictures taken as the stadium began to empty out at around 11pm showed hundreds of ecstatic fans had almost completely disregarded the same coronavirus-fighting measures they have had to follow for the last 16 months.
The scenes of joy following England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark in extra-time came just hours before top scientists warned the football tournament had driven a spike in coronavirus cases that could see the country’s daily infection toll breach 100,000 by July 19.
A major surveillance study estimated cases are now doubling every six days and found that infections in England quadrupled in June, with the rise clearly coinciding with the competition. Men are also around 30 per cent more likely to test positive than women and prevalence is highest among 18 to 24 year olds.
Imperial College London researchers, who analysed the data, claimed the pattern may be down to Euro 2020, with men gathering in pubs and homes to watch every step of the Three Lions’ journey.
But with England gearing up for their first major final in 55 years when they face Italy on Sunday, there are fears it may only get worse. Doctors in Scotland, which saw a similar football-driven spike before the nation was knocked out in the group stages, said it was ‘better from a Covid perspective’ that the country never made the final stages of the competition.
Lead author Professor Steven Riley said: ‘I think the degree to which men and women are socialising is likely to be responsible. It could be that watching football is resulting in men having more social activity than usual.
More than 66,000 people packed the stands in Britain’s biggest post-pandemic crowd, with all supporters told to stay in their seat throughout the game, keep their coverings on whenever they stood up, and to avoid hugging and high fiving when celebrating crucial moments.
But extraordinary pictures taken as the stadium began to empty out at around 11pm showed hundreds of ecstatic fans had almost completely disregarded the same coronavirus-fighting measures they have had to follow for the last 16 months.
The scenes of joy following England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark in extra-time came just hours before top scientists warned the football tournament had driven a spike in coronavirus cases that could see the country’s daily infection toll breach 100,000 by July 19.
A major surveillance study estimated cases are now doubling every six days and found that infections in England quadrupled in June, with the rise clearly coinciding with the competition. Men are also around 30 per cent more likely to test positive than women and prevalence is highest among 18 to 24 year olds.
Imperial College London researchers, who analysed the data, claimed the pattern may be down to Euro 2020, with men gathering in pubs and homes to watch every step of the Three Lions’ journey.
But with England gearing up for their first major final in 55 years when they face Italy on Sunday, there are fears it may only get worse. Doctors in Scotland, which saw a similar football-driven spike before the nation was knocked out in the group stages, said it was ‘better from a Covid perspective’ that the country never made the final stages of the competition.
Lead author Professor Steven Riley said: ‘I think the degree to which men and women are socialising is likely to be responsible. It could be that watching football is resulting in men having more social activity than usual.
