Dozens of revellers ignored social distancing rules introduced in the wake of Covid-19 to pack into a small dance tent at a sold-out music festival in Hertfordshire.
The one-day music festival took place at Colesdale Farm on Sunday after the event was postponed due to the weather a week earlier.
La Fiesta had a series of social distancing measures in place amid the coronavirus outbreak, but footage from the weekend shows dozens of Britons crammed together inside a tent.
In a clip from the sold-out event, party-goers are seen dancing at close quarters as they clutch paper cups inside an open-sided gazebo.
There appears to be little social distancing taking place inside the shelter, with men and women forced to brush against each other to move around inside the space.
Dozens of revellers ignored social distancing rules introduced in the wake of Covid-19 to pack into a small dance tent at a sold-out music festival in Hertfordshire. Pictured: Attendees at La Fiesta on Sunday
Other footage from Sunday shows seating placed in small clusters in front of an outdoor stage, with guests sectioned off from others with colourful bunting.
It comes as another 1,041 people tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, bringing Britain’s total caseload to 325,642.
According to a Covid-19 statement posted on the La Fiesta website, outdoor social interactions between attendees ‘should be limited to a group of no more than two households of up to six people from different households.’
Organisers also explained they would keep a temporary record of all guests for 21 days to assist with the NHS Test and Trace service introduced to contain outbreaks of the virus.
La Fiesta had a series of social distancing measures in place amid the coronavirus outbreak, but footage from the weekend shows dozens of Britons crammed together inside a tent
La Fiesta said attendees would have their temperatures taken on arrival, with cleaning stations in position around the site and ‘strict safety measures’ in place
It was also said that attendees would have their temperatures taken on arrival, with cleaning stations in position around the site and ‘strict safety measures’ in place.
The festival, which was set to take place on August 16 but postponed due to forecast thunderstorms, featured a line-up of live DJ sets alongside games and street food.
Colesdale Farm has previously hosted events for 5,000 attendees, but it is unclear how many were at La Fiesta on Sunday.
Another sold-out music festival is set to take place at the Cuffley farm on August 30.
Professor Jim McManus, director of public health at Hertfordshire County Council, previously explained the county’s Local Resilience Form (LRF) had been working with organisers of La Fiesta and a second festival which took place on Saturday.
Other footage from Sunday shows seating placed in small clusters in front of an outdoor stage (pictured), with guests sectioned off from others with colourful bunting
In a clip from the sold-out event, party-goers are seen dancing at close quarters as they clutch paper cups inside an open-sided gazebo
In a statement given after the event was postponed until Sunday, he told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: ‘The public health team – alongside police, fire, Welwyn Hatfield Borough council and the environmental health team – have been working closely with the organisers who have postponed Saturday and Sunday’s events to the following weekend (22 and 23 August).
‘We will continue to support the organisers with a multi-agency approach going forward in relation to all future planned events.’
Hertfordshire Police also confirmed they were aware of the event and had worked with LRF to ‘ensure public safety.’
La Fiesta and Colesdale Farm have been contacted for comment.
It comes as another 1,041 people tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, bringing Britain’s total caseload to 325,642.
Yesterday’s figure – which is one higher than last Sunday’s 1,040 – marked another weekend of soaring figures after 1,288 tested positive on Saturday and 1,033 on Friday.
Six more people died yesterday after contracting the disease across all settings – including care homes, hospitals and the wider community – bringing the UK’s total death toll to 41,429.
Figures released on Sunday are usually smaller due to a delay in processing over the weekend.
Wales reported two deaths and 20 cases while Scotland has reported no deaths but 83 new cases.
This weekend saw the UK’s biggest Saturday case rise in eight weeks after 123 new Covid-19 diagnoses in Scotland caused figures to soar.