Rage festival, a super-spreader event in the making, warns expert

As the annual matric Ballito Rage festival kicks off tomorrow with a strict “no vaccine, no entry rule”, those who have recently vaccinated in plans to attend the bash were not yet protected and posed a risk of infections, said an epidemiologist.

At least 1 300 tickets were sold for tomorrow’s annual seven-day party which ends on 6 December.

The bash was last year blamed for contributing towards a surge in infections during the second wave.

But this time, all attendees, including staff, need to be fully vaccinated, would be regularly tested and should present a negative Covid test on arrival, said Ballito Rage spokesperson Darren Sandras.

The organisers have decided to, instead, increase from two to three required rapid antigen tests.

The festival organisers would be absorbing the majority of the costs, while some would be included in the overall ticket price, Sandras said.

“The department of health will be on site so when the attendees arrive, the department can verify their vaccination certificates for us. One needs to be fully vaccinated and have received both shots if required.

“The costs [of the antigen tests] are reduced and billed into the overall booking price, so Rage has absorbed a lot of the costs as part of our protocols to ensure as much safety as possible,” Sandras said.

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Despite the tight rules to try and prevent another super-spreader event, Stellenbosch University epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes said those who recently received the jab were still infectious.

“If they have been vaccinated a week before the party, it takes a while for the immunity to kick in. Even with it being the second jab… If they got their jab this weekend, they are not protected,” she said.

With the new omicron variant emerging in the country and around the world, Barnes was of the opinion that the festival was not a good idea.

“We could see the cases creep in. “This [variant] has travelled very fast and it’s already spread all over the world. I think it’s a bad idea to have this festival and any other all over the country. “It is weird that the [government] is allowing these to happen but can only allow 50 people to attend a funeral. The government should have said in June already that there should be no Rage festival,” Barnes said.

rorisangk@citizen.co.za