German scientists plan concert for 4,000 to study how disease spreads
German researchers plan on holding an indoor concert for 4,000 people next month so they can better understand how viruses spread at large events.
Featuring German singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko, the Aug. 22 show in Leipzig will serve as a large-scale science experiment. Attendees will wear contact-tracing devices around their necks to track how many people they come into close contact with and for how long. They also will be told to use fluorescent hand sanitizer that is visible under ultraviolet light, allowing researchers to determine which surfaces are touched most often.
Over the course of the day, scientists from the University Medical Center Halle plan to simulate three different scenarios. In one, the concert will take place exactly as it would have in pre-pandemic times. In another, the crowd will enter through eight entrances instead of the usual two, and every other seat in the arena will be blocked off. The third scenario will involve strict social distancing and limit the audience to 2,000 people.
By studying how concertgoers interact in all three scenarios, the scientists hope to figure out a framework for safely resuming large gatherings. Although Germany has begun lifting some coronavirus-related restrictions, concerts with more than 1,000 attendees remain banned. Researchers describe the ban as an existential threat to performers’ livelihoods.
The scientists also hope to gain a better understanding of how respiratory diseases are transmitted at large events — a body of knowledge that remains “sparse overall and practically nonexistent” for covid-19, they say.
All attendees will have to get tested for the coronavirus in the 48 hours leading up to the event, and masks will be required at all times. Still, the researchers warn, there’s a “very low” risk that the participants could become infected.
As of Tuesday morning, nearly 900 people had signed up, according to local media reports.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...e-updates-us/#link-O4PNGJL5NJD3LKKSCE4ZSQ2CSM
German researchers plan on holding an indoor concert for 4,000 people next month so they can better understand how viruses spread at large events.
Featuring German singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko, the Aug. 22 show in Leipzig will serve as a large-scale science experiment. Attendees will wear contact-tracing devices around their necks to track how many people they come into close contact with and for how long. They also will be told to use fluorescent hand sanitizer that is visible under ultraviolet light, allowing researchers to determine which surfaces are touched most often.
Over the course of the day, scientists from the University Medical Center Halle plan to simulate three different scenarios. In one, the concert will take place exactly as it would have in pre-pandemic times. In another, the crowd will enter through eight entrances instead of the usual two, and every other seat in the arena will be blocked off. The third scenario will involve strict social distancing and limit the audience to 2,000 people.
By studying how concertgoers interact in all three scenarios, the scientists hope to figure out a framework for safely resuming large gatherings. Although Germany has begun lifting some coronavirus-related restrictions, concerts with more than 1,000 attendees remain banned. Researchers describe the ban as an existential threat to performers’ livelihoods.
The scientists also hope to gain a better understanding of how respiratory diseases are transmitted at large events — a body of knowledge that remains “sparse overall and practically nonexistent” for covid-19, they say.
All attendees will have to get tested for the coronavirus in the 48 hours leading up to the event, and masks will be required at all times. Still, the researchers warn, there’s a “very low” risk that the participants could become infected.
As of Tuesday morning, nearly 900 people had signed up, according to local media reports.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...e-updates-us/#link-O4PNGJL5NJD3LKKSCE4ZSQ2CSM
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