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Liverpool’s Public Health Director says he was ‘frustrated’ to see people ignoring coronavirus guidelines at Anfield last night but said he believes the majority of fans did the right thing.
Matt Ashton was one of a number of key city figures to urge fans to celebrate last night’s Premier League trophy ceremony from home and avoid gathering at the stadium because of coronavirus fears.
Despite the warnings, thousands of fans headed to Anfield and celebrated with fireworks and flares.
He has now arranged for mobile testing sites to be set up in the Stanley Park area in a bid to clamp down on any spikes in infections that may arise from the event.
Speaking today, LFC fan Mr Ashton said that while the gathering was a concern, he felt the numbers were not as large as those seen at the Pier Head at the end of June when the Reds were officially named champions.
He said: “Its always frustrating when you see crowds of people appearing to ignore the public health messages that we have been putting out for a long time about the dangers of close contact and congregating in large groups.”
He added: “My understanding is that there were around 1 to 2,000 people there last night, which is less than we have seen on previous occasions recently.
“This tells me that the vast majority of people are understanding the messaging and are doing what they need to do, with a small proportion still not understanding these dangers.”
The Public Health chief also issued urgent advice to anyone who did attend the gathering last night, with new testing sites being set up in the city.
He said: “In a crowd of around 2,000 people you might expect one or two people to have coronavirus but not know it.
“They each have the potential to pass it on to two or three other people and this is how the spread of the virus can happen.
“Therefore if anyone who was at Anfield – or anyone else for that matter – starts to experience symptoms, it is absolutely essential that they stay at home and immediately organise getting a test.
“This is the only way we can stop the virus from spreading before it gets out of control.”
On the situation in Liverpool at present, he added: “We are doing ok at the moment but that is only because of the collective effort of everyone and we know that these situations can change quickly.”
Find the latest on coronavirus cases where you live
In a proactive move, Mr Ashton has arranged for a mobile testing site to be set up in the Stanley Park area so that anyone experiencing symptoms can easily get tested this weekend
The site will be in operation from from tomorrow until Sunday and will return to the area on July 30 and 31.
Elsewhere in the city, the mobile site at Wavertree is in place today and will return from July 27 to 29.
You can register for a test at the following site:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/get-an-antigen-test-to-check-if-you-have-coronavirus/