CHELTENHAM Festival and Liverpool’s match with Atletico Madrid “caused coronavirus hotspots of death”, according to a top UK medic.
Professor Tim Spector, the man leading the largest coronavirus tracking project in the country, claimed the two major sporting events from March “caused increased suffering and death”.
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Crowds at Cheltenham and Anfield led to coronavirus ‘hotspots’, says a top medic
Professor Tim Spector reckons sport played a role in the spread of coronavirus
Data gathered from millions of volunteers appeared to prove the events caused “hotspots” around the country.
At the beginning of March, sport was still going strong across the country.
Cheltenham Festival was held between March 10-13, while Atletico Madrid travelled to Merseyside on 12.
At the time, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told the BBC: “There’s no reason for people not to attend such events or to cancel them at this stage.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who attended the Six Nations clash between England and Wales on March 7 – even declared people should “as far as possible, go about business as usual”.
But Prof Spector has shockingly admitted “people will have probably died prematurely” because of the blasé approach.
Around 250,000 fans flocked to Cheltenham to watch the races, while Anfield was a packed house of over 50,000 for the Champions League tie.
At the time of the game, lockdown measures had already been introduced in Spain with many restaurants and bars shut.
But that didn’t stop 3,000 fans travelling to England to watch the Merseyside showdown.
[Sporting events] caused increased suffering and death that wouldn’t otherwise have occurred.
Professor Tim Spector
Professor Spector went on to suggest cases in those local areas “increased several-fold” following the big events.
Spector added: “I think sporting events should have been shut down at least a week earlier.
“They’ll have caused increased suffering and death that wouldn’t otherwise have occurred.”
One Liverpool fan told the BBC he has been ill for eight weeks and blames the game at Anfield for it.
Speaking to the BBC, Joel Rookwood said: “The celebrations were some of the most physical that I’ve experienced. People were jumping all over each other.”
Despite the claims from Spector, the Government released a statement suggesting the “hotspots” could be caused by a number of factors.
It read: “There are many factors that could influence the number of cases in a particular area…
“[They include] population density, age, general health, and the position of an area on the pandemic curve.”
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said it was “criminal” the game went ahead according to rival Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Ancelotti told Corriere dello Sport: “I spoke with Klopp a few days ago, he told me that the decision to play Liverpool-Atletico was a criminal act and I think he’s right.”
Lockdown measures in the UK only came into force ten days after Cheltenham Festival ended, 11 days after the game at Anfield.
Watford manager Nigel Pearson says government are pushing to restart Premier League to ‘ease the pressure from them somewhat’
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
