UK: a test concert brings together thousands of people without masks.

 Sylvie Claire / May 3, 2021

A crowd of 5,000 people were able to sing and dance without masks or distancing at a music festival in northern England on Sunday in a test event, the first concert allowed after the lockdown.

Sold out, the concert was played at Sefton Park in Liverpool, as part of a government project to test the security measures it intends to implement from June 21, when most of the restrictions against the coronavirus should be lifted. Doing normal things again like normal people do... finally! enthused Matt Berry, hugging his friends not far from the tent housing the scene. It's good that it's happening again to test if it can work like that for this summer, added Freya Begley. The British government had previously allowed a limited number of fans to attend sporting events such as a soccer match at Wembley Stadium in London. Researchers are evaluating different approaches to ventilation and distancing. 

All participants in the two-day festival were required to undergo an antigen test before entering the venue and will also be required to be tested afterwards. They also had to leave their contact information so that a tracking device could be implemented in case of a positive test. To attend the concerts, festival-goers had to show a positive test and QR code. There's no reason for anyone to catch anything, so I feel very comfortable with it all, an excited Jess Davis explained. The prestigious Brit Awards ceremony on May 11 will accept 4,000 spectators in London as long as they test positive. According to the latest government figures, more than 34 million people have received at least a first dose of vaccine in the UK, which has suffered more than 127,000 deaths since the pandemic began.