Sheffield's health chief speaks out over 'anti-mask' protest featuring Piers Corbyn

The ‘peaceful rally’ will feature a speech from Jeremy Corbyn’s older brother Piers – a prominent climate-change denier who claims that coronavirus is a hoax – along with a number of other speakers who oppose measures such as lockdowns, masks and the development of vaccines.

Singer-songwriter Gareth Icke, whose father is conspiracy theorist and former football player David Icke, will be among those attending, and a ‘testimony’ from an anonymous source claiming to be a nurse who worked in hospitals during the lockdown will be read.

Every area of Sheffield with new Covid-19 cases in the latest week

Sheffield’s director for public health Greg Fell has warned against attending the rally, saying anybody doubting the dangers of the virus should ‘ask any of the thousands of people in Sheffield whose lives have been affected and the 450 people who have died with covid in the city’ about its impact.

The demonstration is being co-organised by activist groups The Plandemic and Freenation.today and is due to take place at Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre at 12pm tomorrow.

Event organisers wrote online: “Big speakers on Saturday coming to tell you the truth.

"This will be a peaceful rally and a family fun event.

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"Remember, we are the people, we are the power, we are the 99 per cent.”

Mr Fell said: “Coronavirus is real, there is no two ways about it. We have sequenced the DNA. The hundreds of people who have died should give a very real sense of it.

"Intensive care units in Sheffield have been full of people seriously affected by the virus. We are trying hard to develop a vaccine. Many people are working hard to limit the social, economic and mecial harm caused by the virus.

"I would encourage people not to go to a rally of any description, particularly one where people will not be wearing masks or distancing themselves.

“We encourage people to wear masks and to get tested if they have symptoms. Masks are not a panacea – they do not negate the need to social distance or wash hands – but they do help.

"We would certainly never encourage people not to wear masks.”

A twitter user known as @LordBrexit who has been promoting the Sheffield event shared a link to a copy of the ‘nurse’s testimony’ ahead of the rally.

In it, the ‘nurse’ writes: “You need not fear death from a virus that has yet to be proven even exists.

"If you are to fear anything, fear the physical and spiritual deaths of yourself and loved ones at the hands of the government puppets and their puppet masters.”

The ‘testimony’ signs off with a number of instructions, including telling people to ‘research 5G’ and to ‘party’.

In July, another anti-mask demonstration took place in Sheffield. However, this was labelled an ‘embarrassment’ due to its small turnout.