It’s been an eventful month for football in the UK as the national team is charging towards the final against Italy on Sunday. Every match has been an excuse to get together with friends and family at pubs, bars, restaurants, and in homes. And every victory has been a reason to celebrate.
Discover our latest podcast
With this increase in social gatherings, COVID cases are climbing as well, and data has revealed that right now men are more likely to catch the virus than women, and it could very well be because ofEuro 2020.
React study
The React study from Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori tested more than 47,000 volunteers and found that one in every 170 people had contracted the virus between 24 June to 5 July. Their findings also showed that men had a 30% increased risk of being tested positive than women. This is the first time a study has noticed a difference in the infection rate among men and women, and scientists believe that the ongoingEuropean Championship could be one of the reasons behind it. Professor Steven Riley, author of the report said:
Different things could be affecting it. I think the degree to which men and women are socialising, is likely to be responsible.
And then because of the timing of that, then it could be that watching football is resulting in men having more social activity than usual.
COVID outbreak in Euro 2020
Public Health Scotland recently reported that 2,000 cases have been linked back to Euro 2020 gatherings and the same trend can be expected in other parts of the UK as well. Authorities have said that matches have posed a risk of COVID outbreaks, but they’ve said that it’s under control for now. Ahead of yesterday’s match—where England won against Denmark—Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on LBC:
Yes, there’s always concern.
I think we can manage this risk, but to say there is no risk, if you have thousands of people in one place ... there’s always risk in life.
I think we’re managing the risk. I’m confident there won’t be a big outbreak—but I can’t guarantee that now. We’ve got to just see what happens.
