The Guardian view on singing and Covid-19: science needed for art to survive | Editorial

Facts and data are desperately required so that musicians can get back to entertaining the world

While the tentative resumption of the performing arts is officially allowed in England, singing, along with the playing of woodwind and brass instruments, is deemed a special case. Some serious early outbreaks of Covid-19 were associated with choirs and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has taken a precautionary approach. Concerns have also been raised about possible risks posed by the airflow from wind instruments. The current advice for England - other UK governments have yet to issue specific guidelines - is that while professional musicians can get back to work observing strict regulations, singers and woodwind and brass sections must be subject to particular precautions, such as distancing of 3 metres. For amateurs in England, though, singing or playing wind instruments in a group is forbidden. A vibrant culture of amateur choral societies and wind quintets, gospel choirs and brass bands has been silenced, with no indication of when they can get going again.

While the precautions are sensible, facts are thin on the ground. In the case of the outbreaks that caused the anxieties about group singing, it has not been proven how transmission occurred. Was it because of physical proximity - sharing snacks in the tea breaks and hugs - or because of some property of singing itself? It is known that Covid-19 can be spread by droplets produced by talking, singing, coughing and other vocalisations. Some of these droplets are relatively large, and fall to the ground at a distance of 1-2 metres. Some, however, are much smaller. These aerosol particles remain in the air until blown away. There is still scholarly debate about the precise role that these latter particles play, but opinion is tending towards the view that the virus may indeed be transmitted by them.