The 2021 edition of the Cannes Film Festival is reporting an average of three COVID-19 cases per day, according to the event’s boss.
Cannes general secretary Francois Desrousseaux has denied rumours of a “cluster” of cases at the event, which is running from July 6-17 in France.
Speaking to Variety, Desrousseaux said: “Out of several thousand people getting testing here on a daily basis, there are an average of three cases per day.”
All guests who aren’t double vaccinated or are travelling from abroad, including from the United States, and countries on France’s ‘orange’ list (such as the UK), are required to get tested for coronavirus every other day in order to gain access to the Palais des Festivals, where the majority of screenings for this year’s festival are taking place.
Desrousseaux added: “Since the start of the festival on Tuesday, there were a maximum of six cases found on a single day.
“If we look at the proportion of cases compared with the number of people tested, we’re well below the national average.”
Following the spate of positive cases, Desrousseaux confirmed that the organisers of Cannes have asked all employees to also take a test every two days, rather than the standard of once every five days.
If an attendee tests positive for COVID-19, they are required to isolate immediately and not admitted to the festival site.
Among the attractions at this year’s Cannes, which was postponed from its original dates of May 11-22 to July back in January, is musical film Annette, which is written by Sparks brothers Ron and Russell Mael, and stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.
Elsewhere, Jodie Foster has received an honorary award at this year’s event, while the most high-profile screenings include a pandemic-themed short titled The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, compiling new works chronicling “this unprecedented moment in time”.
