Durban - Organisers of the matric Rage Festival are working closely with the Department of Health to help trace contacts who attended the festival after it was declared a Covid-19 “superspreader” event.
G and G Productions chief executive Greg Walsh, organiser of the Rage Festival, which was reduced this year to a small Rage Bar event in Ballito and the nightly Sound Factory Event at Kings Park in Durban, said he was “devastated” by the outbreak despite the stringent safety measures that had been implemented.
“This year Rage Festival purposefully hosted a significantly smaller event than previous years. We employed extensive health and safety measures to ensure we complied with all national and local government Covid-19 regulations and protocols, including the submission of a detailed and comprehensive Covid-19 compliance plan,” Walsh said.
“Every event at the festival was deemed compliant and the full go-ahead was given by the local health department and the Durban Events Department, and the South African Police Services inspected our venues to ensure compliance,” he said.
Protocols had included #KnowYourStatus and #IsolateBeforeArrival campaigns before the festival; daily Covid-19 pre-screening through the Keep.Out.Covid app; and daily temperature checks and strict mask protocols.
He said tickets were paperless, all payments were cashless and venues with high airflow had been selected, while venue capacity was in line with the Alert Level 1 regulations.
All staff and performers had worn personal protective equipment (PPE) and were screened daily. Covid-19 compliance officers and medical specialists were present at all events.
Walsh said he did not have access to information regarding how many festival goers had tested positive.
“The results of testing are private and remain with the relevant persons and health authority. We are complying fully with all authorities and stakeholders and sharing information with them as requested,” he said.
He said the firm’s records showed that attendance was low at the official event sites.
“We believe this was because of the strict adherence to our extreme Covid-19 mitigation measures that were put in place, which made the events unpopular. Unfortunately this meant many Rage ticket holders chose to go to places – not under the control of Rage - where Covid-19 regulations were less stringent than the ones employed at all Rage venues,” he said.
“The additional Covid-19 compliance measures were costly, and we confirm that the event was not profitable this year and ran at a loss. We are devastated that despite all efforts before and during the festival and at all Rage-controlled venues, some attendees still contracted Covid-19,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the upcoming Joburg and Jeffrey’s Bay rage festivals had been postponed until further notice.
“Amended refund policies will be communicated over the next few days.
Tickets for Plett Rage had been paused temporarily. This is to ensure all necessary further consultation with the relevant officials and stakeholders can take place before the event goes ahead,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said that of the 1 956 pupils who attended rage, 553 were from KZN.
“A tracing team from eThekwini District is in the process of contacting all of them with the aim of performing targeted screening and testing,” Maphisa said.
“We wish to reiterate the call by a National Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize, who has urged all the Rage attendees to immediately go into a 10-day quarantine period as per the Department of Health guidelines. The Minister has also encouraged all parents of children who attended these festivities to get them screened and tested,” Maphisa said.
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