Much of the world has been deprived of concerts the last five months because of the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While the United States continues its work on lowering cases of the virus to a number worth considering a return of concerts, Germany believes they are in a comfortable enough position to conduct some experiments regarding a potential return to indoor concerts.
Pop star Tim Bendzko @bendzko thanking the study participants with his hit song, Nur noch kurz die Welt retten (Just quickly saving the world): “You’re the heroes today!” #Restart19 pic.twitter.com/sXbIvLzvti
— elizabeth grenier (@elizgrenier) August 22, 2020
The German government is testing the spread of coronavirus for indoor concerts through a research study. In the study, 4,000 people between the ages of 18-50 were called to participate and attend one of three concerts by singer Tim Bendzko. According to TMZ the purpose of this study has been defined as a way “to investigate the conditions under which such events can be carried out despite the pandemic.”
Each volunteer is provided with face masks and must wear tracking devices to track whether they are socially distancing and how close they interact with people if they do not. Another device is used within the study to show how aerosolized particles spread. The first concert in the study occurred Saturday in Leipzig, Germany where 2,000 people attended.
The Minister of Economics and Science offered a statement on the study saying, “As long as there is a risk of infection, major concerts, trade fairs and sporting events cannot take place. This is why it is so important to find out which technical and orginisational conditions can effectively minimise the risks.”
You can see a video from one of the concerts above.
(via TMZ)