Cornwall Council has held a briefing on the Covid-19 situation across the county.

Cornwall Council representative Cllr Andrew Virr, alongside representatives from Public Health England gave a summary of the situation regarding Covid-19 infections then took questions from local media.

Rachel Wigglesworth, director of Public Health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: "We've been through many different phases and the current situation, the confirmed number of cases in Cornwall, are some of the highest since the start of the pandemic.

"The rate is one of the highest in local authorities - 529.8 per 100,000 - in the previous seven days.

"This compares with 411.6 per 100,000 on July 19 which is the last time our rates really went up to this point and beyond.

"Whilst these are concerning figures in terms of the numbers of cases I think we need to review who those cases are affecting.

"In Cornwall, we have a much higher rate among 16 to 20 year-olds, who are often less vaccinated, and clearly the cases in those people are affecting that high rate in Cornwall, and I think that's important as people that are younger are less affected in terms of their health and need for NHS care.

"There are currently 30 residents of Cornwall in our hospitals with Covid-19 compared to 160 at the beginning of January this year, so it does indicate that while we have high rates, the vaccines are working to help protect those vulnerable people.

"We're continuing with our outbreak management and pro-active approach to identifying particular clusters and outbreaks where possible, identifying those groups to stop spreading, paarticularly in the workplaces and vulnerable care settings we're aware of as well."

The briefing team also took questions, a selection of which can be found bellow:

Do we have figures on how many cases are directly linked to Boardmasters and was the spike from that event not entirely predictable?

Ruth Goldestein, a Public Health England consultant, said: "This was a situation we've been monitoring very closely and we won't know the complete picture of the cases linked to Boardmasters for another few days but, at the moment, there about 4,700 cases which could be linked to Boardmasters.

"These are people who have noted on their PCR test that they have been associated to to Boardmasters."

Does Cornwall Council have any regrets about allowing Boardmasters to go ahead?

Cllr Andrew Virr said: "Being a responsible Council, we needed to asses whether the festival was going to be safe and whether there were any measures we could put in place to raise that safety level or whether or not it reached the criteria for cancelling.

"That would have obviously been a very big decision for attendees and the event organisers.

"We were expecting there to be cases that were picked up from the festival, and we are very reassured that, although the infections are troublesome and have an impact on people's families and business it's not thankfully threatening to turn into a serious, life-threatening illness.

"There are no perfect answers in this, and one has to make very careful judgments, and we were very mindful of the benefits of the festival as well.

"I think at the moment, there are no regrets, as we were expecting to have this wash-up to deal with."

Was Boardmasters adding to the 'ping-demic more important than Cornwall's economy as hospitality was affected again by young people being off?

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said: "I'd just keep reiterating my call for as many people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

"Also just to keep those Hands, Face, Space procedures going, I know it's boring, but just keep that going.

"And masks still do work, you might not have to but it would be good to use them."

If cases continue to rise in certain areas, can you rule out local lockdowns?

Rachel Wigglesworth said: "The national direction of travel is absolutely to take a national approach, so I wouldn't expect any specific lockdowns in geographical locations.

"Scotland and Wales have slightly different approaches, but in England, it is around managing and living with the virus while it is circulating within the community and just protecting people as much as possible through vaccination.

"I wouldn't expect any area-based restrictions, but what we will be doing is working with our partners to make sure the vaccine is offered, available and taken up, targetting those communities who may be a little more hesitant, and giving support through the Council and public protection teams."

More information on Cornwall Council's Covid-19 strategy can be found on its website.