100 nudists test positive for Covid-19 after ‘very worrying’ outbreak at French naturist resort
- At least 95 nudists have tested positive at the French resort of Cap d’Agde
- Another 50 have reported falling sick after returning home from the village
- Health officials called outbreak ‘very worrying’, as cases soar nationwide
- Nudists told to comply with social distancing, including wearing masks
French health authorities have warned of a ‘very worrying’ outbreak of coronavirus at a famous nudist resort in the south of the country.
At least 95 people at the resort of Cap d’Agde, 30 miles south of Montpellier, have tested positive for the virus so far – with more results due this week.
That is in addition to an estimated 50 people who reported falling ill after returning home from the holiday village.
Health officials have warned visitors to the resort – which is also popular with swingers – that they must comply with all social distancing measures, including wearing face masks.
At least 95 visitors to the French nudist resort of Cap d’Agde, in the south of France (file image), have tested positive for coronavirus – with more results due this week
Medics carried out 194 tests on visitors at the resort on Monday last week, with 38 coming back positive, the regional health service said.
Another 244 tests were then carried out on Wednesday, with 57 positive.
Health officers carried out 310 additional tests on Friday, with results expected early this week.
A spokesman for the health authority said the rate of infection at the nudist resort is four times higher than the nearby village.
The outbreak comes as France on Sunday reported almost 4,900 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, its highest figure since May.
Health Minister Olivier Veran warned earlier that the situation was risky, and said infections were essentially happening among 20 to 40 year-olds at parties.
Health officials have warned visitors to the resort, which was built in the 1960s, that they must comply with all social distancing measures including wearing masks (pictured in the 1980s)
Cases among older people were starting to rise too, Veran said, but he ruled out another total lockdown in France.
While there was a small nudist village on the site of Cap d’Agde in the 1950s, it was not until the area was developed in the 1960s that the idea really took off.
Originally, the resort was simply intended to be a tourist village, before the concept of nudity was later incorporated into the plans.
It is now thought to be the largest community of nudists anywhere in the world, with up to 40,000 people staying there at the height of a typical summer season.