Results from a German study conducted in August have revealed that the risk of COVID-19 spreading at indoor gigs is “low.”
While we all wait in limbo for COVID-19 to disappear forever, we also eagerly await the return of our social lives, in particular, live music events.
With different lockdown restrictions around the world, some cities haven’t endured an (ongoing) ban on live music events, whereas some have.
Meanwhile over in Germany, researchers have given the lack of live music entertainment the attention it deserves, conducting a simulation concert in the name of research.
The study or shall we say, simulation, The Risk of Indoor Sports and Culture Events for the Transmission of Covid-19 (Restart-19), was conducted back in August and aimed at testing how the spread of the virus might be transmitted among punters at an indoor venue.
Run by a group of researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Witternberg, the simulated concert experimented with a range of controlled variables and scenarios including different levels of social distancing, contact, as well as how ventilation affected transmission throughout the venue.
Approximately 1,400 people attended the test concert, with German pop singer, Tim Bendzko performing.
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So what did the study find? Among a few things, the researchers stated a “low to very low” risk of spreading COVID-19 at indoor gigs of that scale.
They also concluded, “seated indoor events, when conducted under hygiene precautions and with adequate ventilation, have small effects on the spread of COVID-19.”
Despite it all, The New York Times have reported that experts have expressed the need for more information and peer reviews before the test can be met with less skepticism.
Aside from stating the obvious, that the study should be taken with a grain of salt, the research did shed light on some helpful recommendations that event-organisers could actually look into.
These include a ventilation system, mask wearing (naturally) as well as strict food and drink breaks and more.
Hopefully we can all return to live gigs soon and leave behind the livestream pandemic.
