New Covid cases double in Glasgow at week 1 of COP26

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The number of new Covid cases in Glasgow, where COP26 takes place, more than doubled in the first week of the event, according to data from the British government.

There were 1,915 new positive tests for Sars-Cov-2 between Nov. 1, when the conference began in practice, and last Sunday (7), up 110% from the previous week, according to the NHS (British public health system).

The spike interrupts the downward trend since September 1, when there was a peak of 951 daily cases, on an average of seven days. Before the start of the climate conference, that average had stabilized between 150 and 190 daily cases; in the first week of the COP, it rose to 273.

Official figures also indicate an increase in the number of tests that test positive, as people tested in the week ending on the 4th were only 5% more than those in the immediately preceding period.

This increase in testing is similar to the increase in people circulating in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, with around 600,000 inhabitants.

In order to participate in COP26, 25 thousand to 30 thousand people arrived during the week, an increase of between 4.2% and 5% in its population. Under British rules, those who came from abroad were required to undergo a PCR test within two days of arriving in the country.

Although the climate conference featured several gathering points, with queues of more than an hour for entry in the first two days, COP26 President Alok Sharma said Saturday he had no information on how many participants became infected with the coronavirus.

“The numbers on Covid are with the Scottish government and the Scottish Public Health Service,” he said in an interview. Questioned on Monday (8), the COP26 Presidency stated that it would not address issues related to Covid.

The conference protocol to prevent contagion for Covid includes mandatory daily rapid tests: only those who show a negative e-mail or SMS in the last 24 hours go through the turnstile.

The registration of these exams, however, is done by the participants themselves, who signed an “honour pledge” at registration, promising to contribute to the control of the disease.

Inside the convention center, the use of a mask is mandatory and there are dozens of disinfectant points for hand sanitizers.

But, in addition to the entrance lines, there are other points where people are less than 1 meter away, such as in the cafeteria lines and at meal tables — when they don’t wear a mask.

For the time being, according to the press office of the CNI (National Confederation of Industry), which co-sponsors the Brazilian pavilion in the area of ​​exhibitions, there have been no positive cases in the organization’s delegation.

On Sunday, the State Department said there was one case that tested positive in addition to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was quarantined on the 3rd.

Over the weekend, the Scottish government said it estimated the infection rate at the summit to be around 0.1%, which would mean between 250 and 300 new cases, assuming 25,000 to 30,000 have been tested.

Asked this Monday about the nearly 2,000 cases officially registered in the week and whether there is a structure prepared to track all these people’s contacts and ensure that they remain in isolation, the government had not responded by 1:30 pm (Brazil time).

The rise in the number of Covid cases also contradicts the general UK trend: positive tests have dropped 36% since their most recent peak on Oct. 17, according to the British government.

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