At least 130 people who attended the Vernipt techo festival in Utrecht earlier this month were probably already infected with coronavirus when they came in, the regional health board said on Thursday.

Over 1,100 people have tested positive for coronavirus since attending the two-day festival but the outbreak is unlikely to have been caused by a single super spreader, the health board’s infectious disease specialist says.

Putri Hintaran studied data from the festival and information generated by contact tracing afterwards. She now says it is likely that in one third of the cases she is researching, the person already had coronavirus when they arrived.

There is no evidence of widespread fraud with QR codes, she said.

Instead, many of the festival goers did not know they were infected because fast tests of up to 40 hours old were being accepted as proof of being coronavirus-free. That has now been cut back to 24 hours.

The government has also brought in a ban on festivals with large groups of people.

Disco

Meanwhile, the 200 infections picked up at the Aspen Valley disco in Enschede are now thought to be down to one person.

Council research suggests that the surge in cases was down to a super spreader who had a negative coronavirus test, website Nu.nl reported.

Campsite

In an effort to control the virus under the young, the Zeeland health board is handing out free self tests to people staying on popular campsite.

The Duin en Strand campsite is extremely popular with youngsters and has space for 1,700 guests a week.

‘We want to prevent them infecting their parents and grandparents when they get home from holiday,’ a spokeswoman told local broadcaster Omroep Zeeland.