Cornwall has the 3rd lowest rates of coronavirus in England – a lockdown isn’t likely, says tourism boss
FEARS of an imminent lockdown in Cornwall because of rising coronavirus rates are unfounded, according to the country’s top tourism boss.
The county has seen a flood of holidaymakers arriving in the last few weeks, prompting concerns about a second wave of Covid locally.
Last week, we reported that in Cornwall, the rolling seven-day rate of new cases per 100,000 people has risen from 0.9 to 3.3, with 19 new cases confirmed.
But Head of Visit Cornwall Malcolm Bell said that he is not expecting a second lockdown.
He told Sun Online Travel: “We’re still the third lowest rated area in England out of 100-plus authorities.
“At the moment, the infection rate is very low and it is staying very low - we will monitor that every week.
"We have conversations every week with the council and public health - it is not the case that the health service is doing one thing and the tourist board is doing another, we are totally integrated communications.
“From the data I’ve seen, I cannot see a lockdown coming but that could obviously change within a week. We are just keeping an eye on things.”
While there have been several reports from concerned locals about tourists misbehaving, ignoring social distancing guidelines and turning the country into ‘Benidorm on steroids,’ Mr Bell believes that the vast majority of visitors have been behaving responsibly.
In addition, he said that many of the holidaymakers they have been receiving have spent the last few months working from home, which has helped to curb the spread of infection.
He said: “By and large, our customers do come from the suburbs and commuter belts - these people have been working from home.
“Almost everyone has come by car this year too, so there is little use of public transport."
He continued: “People worry because they see the things happening at Brighton and Bournemouth with overcrowded beaches and they think it will happen here.
“But those places are within two hours travelling distance of 12 million people, whereas we are two hours travelling distance from 1.5 million so it is a lot harder to come here on a day trip.”
Mr Bell assured locals that the authorities would not hesitate to stop holidaymakers from coming to the county if the cases of coronavirus start to spike.
But he warned that there were many local businesses reliant on tourism, who needed to be given the opportunity to operate during the holiday season.
He said: “I have sympathy for people who are nervous about visitors and obviously it was lovely and quiet for many months while we had glorious sunshine.
"But we have to remember that a third of Cornish households depend on income from tourism."
Campsites and holiday parks in many of the top seaside resorts in Cornwall until the end of August.
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Some, such as Trethem Mill Touring Park in Truro, have no availability until October.
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Thankfully there are still some deals to be found. Campsites still have limited availability across the UK this month, while cottages and hotels have rooms still free.
But there are still some deals you can take advantage of this August without flashing the cash, click here to find out more.