We commented yesterday on the current outbreak of Covid-19 cases further west in Cornwall than Davidstow, and suggested that the cause may be the recent G7 Summit in St. Ives, which finished on Sunday.
Here is yesterday’s map:
Together with a “heatmap” showing the age distribution of cases across Cornwall as a whole:
The far right of the image suggests that during this so called “third wave” of Covid-19 cases, the 15 to 24 age range has been the hardest hit. Possibly that’s because this section of the population has yet to be vaccinated?
The official data for June 10th have also just been released, and this is how the latest map looks:
Truro, Redruth and Mevagissey are no longer pure white, as they were on June 9th. A total of 27 cases in St. Ives doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s an enormous percentage increase on the previous 7 days.
According to a new article on her web site Tremail based artist Kasia Turajczyk is currently exhibiting some of her paintings at The Camelford Gallery:
I am back to the active and creative part of myself. I am back at my studio. The weather is getting better, warmer. I am back in front of the easel and back at my drawing desk.
I have delivered a few old and new paintings to The Camelford Gallery, in the centre of Camelford at 23 Market Place.
The gallery is full of exciting paintings in oil, acrylics, watercolours, drawings, graphics and prints. If you are in Cornwall at the moment or planning a holiday this year, you should try hard to visit the gallery.
Kasia concludes by saying:
It doesn’t have the usual holiday-like-boats-trashy-images. If you seriously appreciate quality art, The Camelford Gallery is the perfect place for you.
I’ll try to translate that for you. If you’re visiting Cornwall and you want to buy pictures of fishing boats bobbing up and down on a cerulean blue ocean then go to St. Ives, preferably before or after the forthcoming G7 Summit at Carbis Bay. However if you fancy some more substantial artistic fare then come to Camelford instead!
By way of example, here is one of Kasia’s water colours with a bit of blue in the background:
The forthcoming summit of the G7 nations is taking place on the north coast of Cornwall, just down the road from Davidstow . According to the G7 UK web site:
In June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will welcome fellow G7 leaders to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK: Carbis Bay in Cornwall.
Other parts of the region will also play a key role in the Summit, including neighbouring St Ives, Falmouth and Newquay airport.
With over 400 miles of coastline, Cornwall’s stunning landscape provides a perfect setting for world leaders to come together and discuss how to respond to global challenges like coronavirus and climate change.
Here’s one of my recent pictures of some of that coastline, including part of Cornwall’s industrial heritage and some large waves!
Cornwall Council has recently issued guidance about the G7 summit, which is likely to be of interest to both residents and visitors to the area over the next couple of weeks. Here it is:
Devon and Cornwall force expect challenges ranging from foreign leaders’ security to gull attacks on drones.
The police force in charge of law and order at the G7 summit in Cornwall has said it faces challenges ranging from the “tricky” business of liaising with foreign leaders’ security details to not wrecking people’s holidays – and stopping gulls from attacking their drones.
Devon and Cornwall police, which is leading the operation for next month’s summit, said officers, backed by military planners and intelligence agencies, would patrol from the land, air and sea to keep the event safe.
On Tuesday it allowed reporters to watch firearms officers going through their paces and drone pilots practising their skills as final preparations were made for the largest operation in its history.
Officers fired Heckler and Koch G36 carbines and Glock pistols in an indoor range at the force’s headquarters in Exeter. They will also have access to a range of other equipment including baton rounds, typically used in riot control, Taser stun guns, smoke and stun grenades and incapacitant spray.
It probably makes sense to stay away from those areas over the long weekend of the G7 event, unless you have a particular reason to go there? Surfing Watergate Bay certainly looks to be fraught with difficulty!
As the editor of Davidstow.info on Monday May 11th I wrote to Scott Mann, the Member of Parliament for North Cornwall, to express this view:
How on Earth does HM Government expect Devon and Cornwall Police to enforce the rules that from Wednesday “Driving from London to surf” in North Cornwall is OK but then “staying in a tent, B&B, hotel or second home” is punishable by an increased fine?
What if somebody drives down from up country in a traditional VW “surf bus” for example, and kips in the back for a few nights?
Scott Mann’s Parliamentary Assistant replied on his behalf as follows:
It would not be permissible for someone to travel down in a camper and stay the night.
In any case, the Government is largely relying on the public’s common sense – the regulations are there to provide some clarity. It is not, to my mind or yours I imagine, a good idea for people to travel across the UK and risk spreading this disease! Hopefully the public can deploy sufficient common sense for it not to be too great an issue.
The police are doing a brilliant job of enforcing these restrictions, and from following their social media I can see they have taken numerous actions to prevent people from breaking the regulations. Whilst they cannot stop everybody, they can certainly act as a disincentive.
I hope this helps.
Subsequently the Davidstow.info Twitter feed expressed this sentiment yesterday morning:
