Atletico Madrid match linked to 41 deaths in Merseyside hospitals
New health data analysis predicts impact controversial fixture may have had
by Liam ThorpAtletico Madrid match linked to 41 deaths in Merseyside hospitals
Liverpool's controversial match with Atletico Madrid has been linked to 41 extra deaths in local hospitals.
The Reds hosted the Spanish side in the Champions League at Anfield on March 9, with 3,000 Madrid fans travelling to the city for the game.
Spain and Madrid in particular was suffering an acute outbreak of coronavirus at the time and questions have been consistently asked about why the game was allowed to go ahead.
In a statement, the government said: "There are many factors that could influence the number of cases in a particular area, including population density, age, general health, and the position of an area on the pandemic curve."
The data forms part of a major investigation in the Sunday Times, which has shed light on some of the government decisions through the crisis that appear to have led to the UK's soaring virus death toll.
This included allowing events like the Liverpool-Madrid match and the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead.
Edge Health, which analyses health data for the NHS, has conducted modelling and estimated that the Liverpool-Atletico match is linked to 41 extra deaths at local hospitals in our region between 25 and 35 days after the game.
This number could of course be larger, with fans travelling further afield to their homes after attending Anfield.
At the time of the Anfield match, there were an estimated 640,000 Covid-19 infections in Spain compared to 100,000 in the UK.
For weeks the ECHO has been asking questions about the decision to go ahead with the game and the potential impact it may have had on Liverpool and Merseyside's high Covid-19 infection rate and death toll.
When we asked government figures about the decision at the Downing Street press conference, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser Angela McLean said a potential link between the Spanish and Liverpool virus outbreaks was an "interesting hypothesis."
The Edge Health data analysis also linked the Cheltenham Festival to 37 extra deaths in Gloucestershire hospitals.
The Sunday Times investigation carries a reminder of what government guidance was around the time of these events.
It carries a comment from Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance from mid March, which expressed why it was felt that major sporting events should continue.
He said: "There's only a certain number of people you can infect.
"So one person in a 70,000 seat stadium isn't going to infect the stadium.
"They will infect potentially a few people they've got very close contact with."
Can you help us keep Merseyside covered?
On the day of the Liverpool-Atletico game itself, Deputy Medical Adviser Jenny Harries was featured in an interview with Boris Johnson where she said she felt such events would not have a big impact on transmission of the virus.
Liverpool Council's Public Health Team is currently working on an investigation into the impact the match had on the city's infection rates.