Prior to Isle of Wight Festival taking place this year News OnTheWight asked the council what would happen if someone had travelled to the Festival but tested positive, either on the gate, or whilst attending the Festival.
We were assured by Simon Bryant, the Director of Public Health for the Isle of Wight that protocols in line with Public Health England guidelines were in place.
Eligibilty for entry
The theory was Festival-goers were to be asked to prove their Covid-19 status on the gate, either by being fully vaccinated, through a negative test, or immunity.
If anyone tested positive, an agreement was in place with the ferry companies for Covid positive passengers to remain in their car or taxi when travelling back across the Solent.
Should any person need to travel by taxi (public transport was out of the question if Covid positive) the IW Public Health would cover the cost to the other side of the Solent, but no further.
Was anyone refused entry?
Following the Festival News OnTheWight asked how many people had been refused entry for not being able to prove their Covid-19 status on the gate.
We were led on a merry dance, being bumped from the Isle of Wight council (Public Health) to the Festival organisers.
At first they replied:
Clear and consistent messaging was issued prior to the event about entry requirements; festival goers had to provide their Covid-19 status either via proof of vaccination, a negative lateral flow test or proof of natural immunity. The festival implemented a robust procedure which followed official government guidelines to verify the Covid-19 status of festival goers. Anyone who didn’t have the correct entry requirements was offered a lateral flow test at the gate and were only then given entry following a negative test.
We asked again
It didn’t really answer the very simple question, so we asked again.
After many email back and forths, IW Festival HQ finally confirmed that “no gate refusals were reported into the control room”.
Was this the only process to report refusals?
To make sure that we had covered all bases, News OnTheWight checked whether that was the sole procedure for reporting refusals on the gate.
They replied,
“Yes, this was the procedure to be followed on site.”
In summary, not a single person was turned away and to confirm the Isle of Wight council (PH) spent no money on taxis.
Image: davidcjones under CC BY 2.0 for illustrative purposes only
