VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Can singing spread COVID-19? There have been numerous reports recently of this happening with choirs both in the United States and Europe.
An outbreak of COVID-19 which affected as many as 52 of 61 people in a choir in Washington State in March was recently reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a serious effort at contact tracing, it was determined that one person with mild respiratory symptoms (and who later tested positive for the coronavirus) had presumably triggered the outbreak.
The most likely way the virus spread during the two hour practice was through singing and chatting while sitting close together.
This is not an isolated coronavirus situation related to signing. In March, 102 of 130 members of the Amersterdam Mixed Choir became ill with COVID-19, 50 members of the Berlin Cathedral Choir contracted the disease after a March rehearsal, and many members of the Voices of Yorkshire Choir in England developed symptoms after rehearsing together.
The discussion centers around how long the choir members were together and how close of proximity they were. “The risk of inhaling infected droplets depends on both closeness and amount time — get close enough to people who are infected, and do so for long enough, and you will get infected too,” states Colin Furness, an expert in infectious disease epidemiology from the University of Toronto. For that reason he would rate group singing as extremely risky.
Laser imagery and video has shown that thousands of fine droplets can be spewed into the air when people speak. The louder they speak the more virus-containing droplets are spewed forth. And those droplets can remain airborne for 8 minutes or longer. Singing can project these droplets even further.
For more information on COVID-19 go to www.health.nd.gov and click on coronavirus (more information) or call their hotline at 1-866-207-2880 or contact City County Health District about any concerns or needs that you may have (845-8518). If you or your family would need a cloth mask, they can be obtained at City County Health District. This article comes to you from the City County Health District.