Choir Practice in Spain Infects 30 of 41 Members with Virus

At least 30 of 41 members of a gospel choir in northeastern Spain have contracted coronavirus following a rehearsal indoors with little air circulation, local authorities and the chorus say.

The River Troupe Gospel, a volunteer gospel group, rehearsed on Sept. 11 ahead of an open-air performance two days later for a local festival in Sallent, a town in the province of Barcelona. It was their first public show since the beginning of the pandemic.

After one member of the chorus tested positive following the Sept. 13 performance, more than 40 other members and their close contacts went into isolation, the chorus said. Since then, at least 30 singers have tested positive, the Sallent municipal government said.

Although the chorus claims that it complied with most health safety measures — temperature checks on arrival, hand washing, social distancing between each member and masks on for most of the rehearsal — the venue's windows were closed to avoid moths and mosquitoes. The group said it had switched on air conditioning to fight the heat.

It was not known if any relatives of the singers also became infected. Read More

Also See:
Updated CDC guidance acknowledges coronavirus can spread through the air
CDC abruptly removes guidance about airborne coronavirus transmission, says update 'was posted in error'
The CDC Now Says COVID Spreads These 5 Ways
No matter what the CDC says, here’s why many scientists think the coronavirus is airborne

I am posting this article as a reminder that the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads in inadequately ventilated spaces even when precautionary measures such as social distancing, face masks, temperature checks, and hand washing are taken. Mechanical ventilation that recirculates the air in a room or a building as does certain air conditioning systems will not prevent the buildup of concentrations of COVID-19 particles in the air. Asymptomatic carriers of the COVID-19 coronavirus particles will not have an elevated temperature. At the same time they are infectious, exhaling COVID-19 particles into the air. Singing and loud speaking increases not only the exhalation of these particles but also their inhalation. In a closed, poorly ventilated room the result will be a buildup of high concentrations of the particles in the air. Individuals remaining in the room for a length of time such as a choir rehearsal will inhale more particles than individuals who walk into the room and out again. The more particles an individual inhales, the sicker they are likely to become. These are the findings of a growing body of research to date. This research also has shown that the best form of ventilation is natural ventilation--open doors and windows with a breeze blowing fresh air into the room--or mechanical ventilation that draws into a room or building fresh air from the outside and exhaust stale air in the room or building to the outside. The replacement of stale air with fresh air prevents the buildup of concentrations of particles, diluting and dispersing them.

Among the early guidance from the CDC for churches and other religious organizations was that they hold gatherings for worship and instruction in large, airy rooms with the doors and windows open and ventilated by electric fans or outdoors. This guidance was quickly withdrawn on the grounds that it was not authorized by the White House. Since that time it has come to light that Trump administration officials have been pressuring the CDC to change its guidance to fit with the president's narrative of the pandemic and his message that the United States has turned the corner on the pandemic. It has also come to light that the president has been deliberately deceiving the public about the seriousness of the pandemic, intentionally downplaying its seriousness. He has in public statements expressed a willingness to accept high levels of casualties from the pandemic in order to reopen the US economy and improve his reelection prospects. More recently the president, when asked about the COVID-19 transmission risks of holding political rallies indoors again, stated that the rallies posed no risk to himself as he kept a safe distance from the attendees. He expressed no concern for the safety of the attendees themselves, only himself. Based upon his statements and actions and the statements and actions of his subordinates the president is far more concerned with retaining the office of the presidency than he is with protecting the health, safety, and well-being of the US population.

The CDC's withdrawal of its recent guidance that COVID-19 is also spread by airborne particles has become a source of controversy due to these developments, leading public health experts and others to believe that it was politically-motivated and is a further example of Trump administration officials' tampering with CDC guidance for political reasons.

Churches and other religious organizations, however, need guidance that is based upon science and not politics in order to protect their congregations and their communities. With the influence of genuine Christianity--the teaching of Jesus and his apostles--waning in the United States, churches need to maintain good relations with their communities so that they can continue to be salt and light in the community. If churches are to have a lasting positive impact on their communities, they cannot selfishly ignore the health, safety, and well-being of the community. If genuine Christianity is to regain a measure of influence in the United States, Christians must demonstrate the value of being a follower of Jesus through their witness, through their words and deeds. They cannot restore the influence that the teaching of Jesus and his apostles once enjoyed in this nation through legislation, through judicial appointments, through personality cults.