I’m going to kick this thread off with this story about the choir that was at the epicenter of the COVID launch:
When COVID first appeared on the national scene:
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The choir encouraged people who were worried about getting sick to stay home. But for those who did attend the rehearsal, the leaders loaded up on hand sanitizer and had members spread out as far as possible in their practice hall at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church.Sixty-one people came to rehearsal. Within a few weeks, 52 were diagnosed with COVID-19. Several people were hospitalized, and two of the choir members died.
“This particular incident was one of the first strong pieces of evidence that there could be airborne transmission [of COVID-19],” says Dr. Lea Hamner, the head infectious disease at Skagit County Public Health.
If COVID-19 wasn’t spreading through the air, she says, “it just seems mathematically impossible — after you stare at it for a long time and wrestle with it — that you would have 52 people get sick all at once.”
The superspreader event marked a turning point in scientists’ understanding of the disease.
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My bold.
And now, as the choir, which has been zooming, considers in-person rehearsals, the members are divided over vaccinations. Even after two members died.
I sang with my Episcopal church choir yesterday for the first time. Small group. Everyone wearing singers masks. Not distanced, but not touching either.
I’m anticipating that the college choir will resume in the fall. Will we keep wearing masks? I don’t know, but the prospect of sitting in a roomful of people who spend an hour pretty much spitting on each other (however melodiously) does not appeal.
- What about your choir or singing group? What have you been doing this past year and what are you doing now?