Unmasked Singing Indoors Swiftly Spread COVID-19 through Microscopic Aerosols, New Study Suggests

Jan, 2021 - By WMR

According to a new study by the researchers of University of Colorado at Boulder have suggested that a singing indoors without using mask can speedily spread the COVID-19 virus through aerosols, a microscopic airborne particles.

Shelly Miller, lead author stated, â€œThis study documents in great detail that the only plausible explanation for this superspreading event was transmission by aerosols. Shared air is important because you can be inhaling what someone else exhaled even if they are far away from youâ€.

Moreover, researchers highlighted one case scenario that on March 10 one person with mild symptoms of COVID-19 joined a 2.5-hour choir practice indoors in Skagit Valley, Washington. Researchers found that within a week of the practice session, over 50 (almost everyone) other people from that rehearsal contracted the disease and two person were reported to die due to COVID-19. This indicates that this happened due to aerosol transmission (no large drops were spit or infected surfaces), as participants took safety measures of sanitization and avoided physical contact.

Researchers also interviewed the chorale through a representative about details of the event and calculated the rate of infection based on the details of the rehearsal. Researchers concluded that there were not enough opportunities for droplets and infected surfaces, to transmit the virus to the number of people who fell ill afterwards, however poor ventilation in the indoor space might have resulted in accumulation of aerosols generated by the singers.

Researchers finally concluded that the inhalation of contagious respiratory aerosol from produced by the singers was the leading mode of transmission. They also suggested that improved ventilation and air cleaning aids in removing infected aerosols from the air, can further aid in reducing the spread of airborne infections in any indoor space.