Concerts in the Time of Corona
While scrolling through COVID-19 updates as I do about ten times a day, I noticed something unusual; scientists in Germany were hosting concerts to understand the spread of coronavirus in large indoor stadium events. My first thought was genuine concern and confusion over why hosting concerts, even in the name of science, was something that was being done during a pandemic. However, after some quick research, it became evident that these weren’t your traditional mosh-pit, sweaty crowds, $10 beers-in-hand concerts.
This concert study, known as Restart-19, was carried out by a team at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in order to learn more about the conditions under which indoor events can be helped even in the times of a pandemic, and each concert followed different social distancing guidelines. All participants had to test negative for COVID-19 48 hours before taking part in the experiment, were required to wear masks, and provided with tracking devices to measure their distancing. The first concert was modeled after a pre-pandemic event, with no safety measures in place. During the second concert, there was more focus on hygiene and some form of social distancing. The third concert was the strictest with half the number of attendants and each person following the recommended social distancing guidelines.
Some things that were interesting to note were that around 1,500 volunteers between the ages of 18-50 took part and this was only one third of the expected number. Could this be because this study was conducted at a time when Germany recorded more than 2,000 COVID cases in a day? This is their highest number of cases since the end of April. However, conductors of this experiment believe that it is time to figure out how we can return to some form of normalcy because of the severe impact of coronavirus on the event industry in Germany.
The data from the experiment is going to be evaluated in order to understand what guidelines need to be set in place in order to safely restart events such as concerts around the world. The head of the clinical infectious diseases at the university stated that although “we know the personal contacts at the concert are risky, we don’t know where they happen…is it at the entrance…the bleachers?” The hopes are that this experiment can help us understand not only how COVID-19 spreads in large indoor settings, but also help us figure out how we can slowly return to some form of pre-pandemic life once COVID-19 is over. Although it may be a long time from now, it’s helpful to learn this information now so that we are equipped to return to normal once again.