Dozens of celebrities and royals along with hundreds more Cheltenham Festival racegoers could have been infected with coronavirus, it was feared today.
Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles today joined a growing list of famous names thought to have caught the virus at the event held from March 10 and 13, including comedian Lee Mack and West Bromwich Albion footballer Charlie Austin.
Fans were packed into the stands at the world-famous festival with no protection despite fears over the spread of the virus which was then in its early stages in Britain – which is now leading to worries that it could have been a hotbed for the infection.
There are also now further concerns for members of the Royal Family, with Brigadier Parker Bowles in close contact over two days he spent at the event with Camilla, Princess Anne, her daughter Zara Tindall and son-in-law Mike Tindall.
More than 250,000 people walked in through the gates across the four days – and hundreds of them have claimed online that they have since developed symptoms.
The news will raise fears that more people at the event at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire could have been infected – some without even knowing.
Anyone who attended the festival – which was taking place when Italy was already in lockdown as of March 9 – and caught the virus would have had it by now, given that the event finished three weeks ago and the incubation period is 14 days.
However anyone carrying it – whether or not they knew – could have gone on and infected more people, with patients spreading the virus to two others on average.
It went ahead just two weeks before the lockdown on March 23 – with several high-profile names fearing they caught the virus there, with up to 60,000 attendees daily.
It has also raised further criticism over why the event went ahead, with Twitter users saying the organisers ‘need to be held to account’ over the decision not to cancel – and prompted more questions on why Ministers did not ban sports event sooner.
At the time there was huge debate over whether it should have been cancelled, with MailOnline’s Piers Morgan saying he was ‘astonished’ it went ahead, and ex-health secretary Jeremy Hunt claiming the Government imposed the lockdown ‘too late’.
But organisers The Jockey Club insisted today the festival ‘went ahead under Government guidance’. It finished three days before mass gatherings were banned.
But while most of other events were called off by individual sporting bodies, the festival still took place – which has prompted suggestions that Ministers should have done more to ensure all events were called off when the outbreak was in its infancy.
It comes as a poll for MailOnline revealed today that 55 per cent of Britons believe Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the coronavirus lockdown ‘too late’.
Meanwhile racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks has also revealed fears that he got the virus there – as did two racecourse workers, Andrew Maclean and Scott Saunders.
Andrew Parker Bowles has coronavirus and believes he caught it at the Cheltenham Festival. He is pictured there with Princess Anne. He is pictured there with her on March 10
Andrew Parker Bowles (left) with Zara Tindall (centre) and Princess Anne (right) on day one of the Cheltenham Festival on March 10
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles at the Festival on March 11
Andrew Parker Bowles (right) with Anne and trainer Nicky Henderson (left) on March 11
Comedian Lee Mack is thought to have contracted coronavirus at the Cheltenham Festival. The 51-year-old star is pictured at a previous event in Gloucestershire on March 17, 2016
West Bromwich Albion footballer Charlie Austin (left, pictured with a fan on March 10 at the racecourse) believes he contracted coronavirus at Cheltenham last month
Racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks also fears he got the virus at Cheltenham. He is seen at a previous festival in Gloucestershire on March 14, 2012
This graphic shows which royals met each other during the Cheltenham Festival, before they held other events thereafter. There is a 14-day incubation period with the virus – and someone carrying it is thought to infect an average of two people. Only Prince Charles and Andrew Parker Bowles in the above graphic are known to have contracted coronavirus
A third worker, a former footballer in Wales who only wished to be known as Jason, also fears he contracted the infection while employed at the festival.
Other celebrity attendees who are believed to be in good health include singer Lily Allen, TV presenter Nick Knowles, actor Ben Miller, cyclist Victoria Pendleton, tennis coach Judy Murray and cricketer Jonny Bairstow and reality TV star Georgia Toffolo.
There was huge debate at the time of the Festival over whether it should go ahead, especially with dozens of other sports events being cancelled due to the pandemic.
These included Premier League football matches, England’s cricket tour of Sri Lanka and Formula One races – all called off on March 13, the last day of Cheltenham.
Hundreds more people who attended the festival have also taken to social media to claim they contracted the virus while at the event between March 10 and 13.
While most of them have not been tested and cannot prove where they picked up their illness, dozens claim they only started showing symptoms after the event.
Last night, Duchess of Cornwall’s former husband Andrew Parker Bowles revealed he had coronavirus and said he believes he contracted it at the festival.
(left to right) Zara Tindall, Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne, Natalie Pinkham and Dolly Maude at Cheltenham on March 13. None of them are thought to have contracted the virus
Zara Tindall (left) and Archie McCoy, son of AP McCoy, at Cheltenham Racecourse on March 11
Lily Allen celebrates during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at the racecourse on March 13
Gareth Locke, Ollie Locke, Josh Cuthbert and Georgia Toffolo at Cheltenham on March 13
Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall during day four of the Cheltenham Festival on March 13
TV presenter Nick Knowles poses with police officers at the Cheltenham Festival on March 13
Actor Ben Miller arrives for day four of the Cheltenham Festival at the racecourse on March 13
Skeleton racer Amy Williams (left) and cyclist Victoria Pendleton (centre) on March 13
The Princess Royal and Timothy Laurence arriving for day four of Cheltenham on March 13
England cricketer Jonny Bairstow chats to fellow racegoers at Cheltenham on March 13
Tennis coach Judy Murray, and Andy’s mother, arrives for the Cheltenham Festival on March 13
The 80-year-old retired Army officer was seen in close contact with members of the Royal Family including Princess Anne and her daughter Zara.
British firm Randox Health that sponsored event at Cheltenham and Grand National is making test kits
A British clinical company involved in coronavirus testing sponsors the Grand National which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Randox Health, a large clinical diagnostics company in Northern Ireland, has been offering coronavirus testing packs for £120.
The test is billed as the only one in the world which can identify the lethal Covid-19 strain and differentiate between other non-lethal variants with the same symptoms.
The company also sponsored the Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 13.
The Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle winners at Cheltenham on March 13
Randox says it has volunteered a ‘significant element’ of its testing capacity to the UK national testing programme focused on key workers, including the NHS.
Newspaper columnist Charlie Brooks spotted the link, writing in the Daily Telegraph last week: ‘I am now hovering two metres from the letter box in anticipation of the postie shoving my test results from Randox Health through it.
‘Yes, I have finally worked out what the sponsors of the Grand National actually do when they are not racing. They jolly well make Covid-19 test kits!’
The Randox Health Grand National Festival had been due to take place between April 2 and 4.
But Brigadier Parker Bowles told the Daily Telegraph that he was told he would not have been contagious until the Monday after he attended, March 16.
He said: ‘I’ve felt pretty bloody awful with it. It’s better in the mornings and gets worse as the day goes on. I’ve had a bad cough and I’ve been very lethargic. I’m sleeping twice as long as normal.’
When asked if it should have gone ahead, he said: ‘To be honest it was optional whether we went. At the time the Underground was running full of people.
‘You can’t blame Cheltenham. To be fair attendance was 10 per cent down but I do know quite a few people who picked it up there.’
Despite concerns about the illness prior to the races taking place, Zara was seen hugging, kissing and shaking hands with other racegoers – while her husband Mike Tindall happily posed for pictures with fans.
Camilla was also at the event, although tested negative for the virus. Her husband Prince Charles tested positive, but has now recovered from a ‘mild’ form of the illness.
Comedian Lee Mack also suffered symptoms of coronavirus after attending the event, and is believed to have contracted it from his driver who took him there.
The 51-year-old Not Going Out star, whose real name is Lee Gordon McKillop, attended the races for Ladies Day and for St Patrick’s Day.
A spokesman later told the Independent: ‘Lee has not been tested for this virus, but has been feeling unwell for 10 days now and he and his family have been completely self-isolating.
‘He said the worst symptom so far is the avalanche of jokes about him Not Going Out. He laughed on day one but now it’s day ten it’s becoming a struggle.’
Footballer Charlie Austin spoke out on the horrors of the coronavirus just days after visiting the Cheltenham Festival.
The 30-year-old striker had to self-isolate at home and have no contact with his family after suffering symptoms.
Austin told the Telegraph: ‘I felt like someone had chucked a bucket of water over me. I was soaking.’
Hundreds of people who attended the festival have also taken to social media to claim they contracted the virus while at the event between March 10 and 13
Social media users have been taking to Twitter over the past 24 hours saying Cheltenham should have been cancelled, saying the organisers ‘need to be held to account’
More than 250,000 people went to the Cheltenham Festival last month – pictured on March 13
Racegoers celebrated and hug each other after a race on March 13 at the Cheltenham Festival
Thousands of people attended the festival in Gloucestershire, pictured above on March 13
Crowds during day four of the festival at the racecourse in Gloucestershire on March 13
Austin had initially told his family that if anyone got the virus he hoped it would be him, adding: ‘I felt like I was fit and healthy and I could handle it.
Had Camilla recovered from coronavirus when she was tested? Fears she could have infected Prince Charles without either of them knowing
Although Camilla tested negative for the illness, experts said it was possible that she had already recovered from coronavirus before being checked.
Prince Charles finished a seven-day period of self-isolation on Monday after testing positive for the virus last week. He suffered a ‘mild’ form and was still able to work while at his Scottish residence of Birkhall.
Prince Charles and Camilla greet guests during the Commonwealth Reception at Marlborough House in London on March 9
Explaining the test procedure, Dr Andrew Preston, from the University of Bath, said: ‘The current testing is based on detecting the viral genome.
‘It is highly sensitive and highly specific. Thus, if they test negative, we have good confidence that they are not carrying the virus. However, this virus test is a snapshot for that point in time.
‘Someone who has had Covid-19 will clear the virus, the exact time after the end of symptoms when they become free from virus is not clear, and probably varies between people to some extent.
‘Thus, someone who has recovered will test negative, meaning that unless they were tested while they had the disease, it would not be possible to use the test to say that it was definitely Covid-19.’
‘A week later and I would say to anyone, even those in their 20s and 30s – ‘Don’t take it lightly – it’s serious’.
The Baggies said Austin had not been tested for the virus, with the club doctor telling him to isolate himself within a bedroom where his temperature soared to 39.7C.
He has since made a full recovery, but had to advise his wife to leave food and drinks outside of his room whilst he was suffering.
Meanwhile racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks wrote in the Telegraph over the weekend that he believes he contracted coronavirus at Cheltenham.
He said: ‘Apologies for this column being a week late. I have been in bed with a high fever, continuous cough and aches and pains, which naturally I put down to the excesses of Cheltenham week.
‘But I may have misdiagnosed. Dr Lucy says that its odds-on I have Covid-19.
‘So I have had plenty of time to reflect on whether I was a selfish berk for attending the Festival – as have my entire family, who have duly voted ‘positive’ on that.’
The organisers of the Cheltenham Festival decided to go ahead with this year’s event with extra wash basins and hand sanitiser stations.
There were also numerous signs reminding racegoers to wash their hands in an attempt to stop the spread of germs.
Some attendees also took extra measures to try and protect themselves from the illness by donning face masks.
But, writing on MailOnline yesterday, columnist Piers Morgan said he was ‘astonished the festival was allowed to go ahead and said so forcefully at the time on Good Morning Britain’.
He said on March 11: ‘How can anybody tell me, as this outbreak is beginning to erupt, that kind of gathering of people in close proximity is a good idea?
‘What are the chances that some of the 60,000-odd people each day has the virus? I’d say reasonably high. The health of our elderly and those with underlying health problems should be more important than people going about having jollies.’
In his column yesterday, Morgan added: ‘Today, those words look horribly prescient as the virus has begun to explode in Britain in a way that may end making Italy look not so bad by comparison.’
And veteran racing reporter John Duggan, who has attended Cheltenham 20 times, said during the festival: ‘It’s the only event in the world today involving Irish fans.
‘You have two different jurisdictions with two different approaches. People feel, and I am of the view that Cheltenham should not be happening today.’
Meanwhile racing expert Stephen Power, who suffered symptoms of coronavirus after attending Cheltenham, said last month: ‘It’s impossible to pinpoint the source of infection, but being in and around thousands of people for a few days would obviously have been the main trigger, logically thinking.’
A spokesman for Cheltenham Festival and its organisers The Jockey Club said today: ‘The festival went ahead under Government guidance to do so, like other sports events at Twickenham, Murrayfield, 10 Premier League matches and the UEFA Champions League, all with full houses that same week.
‘We promoted the latest public health advice and introduced a range of additional hygiene measures at the event including hundreds of hand sanitiser dispensers and extra washbasins, which worked well.’
Jockey Paul Townend celebrates on Al Boum Photo after the Gold Cup Chase on March 13
Jockey Paul Townend celebrates after the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase on March 13
Racegoers using hand sanitiser dispensers due to the coronavirus at Cheltenham on March 13
A British Horseracing Authority spokesman said: ‘Over the past few weeks, we have taken great care to follow Government guidance. The Government itself has been clear about the need to act proportionately and we have been in regular, direct contact with them.
‘Some sports went beyond this when they started to see their own players and staff become affected. We were not aware of similar cases in racing at that time.
‘The Government advice before and during Cheltenham was that mass gatherings were not a high area of risk, provided hygiene measures were in place and observed.
‘The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary of State made clear it was right for Cheltenham to go ahead.’
Irish jockey Ruby Walsh previously hit back at criticism of Cheltenham, telling RTE 2FM’s Game On on March 18: ‘I think it was an easy target by the end of the week.
‘I didn’t hear anyone giving out about the Liverpool fans that went to the match in Anfield (on March 11), the amount of people that were in London working and commuting.
‘I couldn’t foresee what was going to come. I went with the best intentions and in good faith. We were going to work and have followed guidelines since we went home.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on March 12 that mass gatherings were still allowed to go ahead, but warned: ‘We are considering banning major public events like sporting fixtures.
‘The scientific advice is this has little effect on the spread – but it does place a burden on other public services.’
Mass gatherings were banned soon after on March 16.
This graphic based on a study in China last month shows how a man infected with coronavirus spread it to nine other people on his bus. The virus was able to transfer from the man two other victims sitting 4.5 metres away, as well as to a patient 30 minutes after the man got off the bus
Some within the events industry have also pointed out that it is not possible to know the circumstances of how anyone has contracted coronavirus.
The illness can spread between people just through coughs and sneezes, making it an extremely contagious infection. And it may also spread even before someone has symptoms.
It is believed to travel in the saliva and even through water in the eyes, therefore close contact, kissing, and sharing cutlery or utensils are all risky.
It can also live on surfaces, such as plastic and steel, for up to 72 hours, meaning people can catch it by touching contaminated surfaces.
UK lockdown is working: Study suggests one person with coronavirus now infects an average of 0.62 other people – down from 2.6 before social distancing measures were introduced
The UK’s lockdown appears to be blocking the spread of the coronavirus so well that it could drive the outbreak to an early end, scientists say.
Researchers say each infected patient may now only be passing COVID-19 on to 0.62 others, on average, down from 2.6 each before people were forced to stay at home.
A virus must have a reproduction number – known to scientists as an R0 (R-nought) – of more than one for an outbreak to be able to carry on.
If it’s prevented from spreading on at least a one-to-one ratio it will quickly run out of new victims and the epidemic will come to an end if the R0 can be kept down.
Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the virus may now be struggling to spread because people have around 73 per cent fewer daily contacts than they did before the lockdown started.
One medicine professor and cancer doctor said this meant ‘the virus is cornered – it has nowhere to go and will burn out’.
Researchers found that the mean number of contacts was down 73 per cent compared to before the lockdown. This translates to a reduction of the average number of secondary cases from 2.6 to 0.62. However, the comparison was based on a results from a similar survey in 2006 when we didn’t have coronavirus
The R0 is simply the number of other people that the average coronavirus patient infects.
A higher number means a faster spreading outbreak, and a number lower than one means the outbreak will run out of steam and be forced to an end.
The London School of Hygiene (LSHTM) researchers made their estimate using an online survey of 1,300 people who were all asked to list what human contact they had had in the past 24 hours.
This was compared to a similar survey done in 2005-2006 to give an idea of how social contact now compared to normality.
They found people now have 73 per cent fewer daily encounters and adjusted the coronavirus’s R0 accordingly using a computer algorithm.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine graphics show the total number of daily reported contacts made by participants in different age groups with individuals in other age groups. Results shown for all contacts reported in the March 2020 survey (CoMix) and a survey taken between 2005 and 2006 (POLYMOD)
Dr Jennifer Cole, from the Royal Holloway University in London, was not involved in the study but said: ‘Once the R0 is below 1, the disease will eventually peter out.
‘How quickly depends on how far below 1 the rate can be pushed.
‘It is important to remember that cases will still rise in the short-term as people who were already infected before the lockdowns were implemented may not yet have developed symptoms.’
She added: ‘It is also valuable that this study shows that R0 can be reduced significantly even when people are still allowed to go out for essential food and medicines and with essential workers still operating.’
The researchers hope that their online survey of social contact is representative of the whole country.