Holidays to Cornwall under threat as Covid cases increase tenfold after Bank Holiday sunshine and G7

LONDON June 17: Covid cases in Cornwall have increased tenfold in the space of a week and parts of the county have the highest rates in the UK, latest figures have revealed.

There were 59.8 cases per 100,000 in the county in the week ending 11 June, compared to 5.6 cases per 100,000 over the previous seven-day period.

Actual cases in Cornwall have also increased tenfold, from 32 to 342 over the same period.

The surge came two weeks after the end of May Bank Holiday, when thousands of holidaymakers flocked to Cornwall’s beaches, and during the immediate period before the G7 summit, when there was increased activity in the region from extra police officers, catering and hotel staff, media and government officials preparing for the arrival of world leaders.

While the overall rate for Cornwall is far lower than Delta variant hotspots in the north west of England, there are localised outbreaks in St Ives and Falmouth, where the G7 summit was based.

Cornwall has seen a relatively low case rate during the whole of the pandemic due to its rural demographic, but a rise in cases following periods of hot weather and school holidays would be expected.

The 59.6 rate is, however, the highest in the county since the end of the second wave peak in early February.

If the rates continue to rise at their current rate Cornish health and tourism chiefs are concerned the county could become subject to local restrictions similar to those imposed on areas such as Greater Manchester, Bedford, Leicester and the London Borough of Hounslow earlier this month.