German scientists are studying the spread of coronavirus through a series of indoor concerts with volunteer participants.
Per BBC News, this study, dubbed RESTART-19, consists of three concerts and each concert will test different levels of safety measures. The first of three concerts took place on Saturday, August 22 and had no set safety measures in place. Attendees were basically allowed to move about as they pleased. The second concert will feature "greater hygiene and some social distancing," and the third concert in the study will have "half the numbers and each person standing 1.5m apart."
The first concert had 1,500 people in attendance. BBC reports, "All participants were tested for COVID-19 before taking part, and given face masks and tracking devices to measure their distancing. Researchers reportedly also used fluorescent disinfectants to track which surfaces audience members touched the most."
Results for the experiment will be released sometime in the fall with lead researcher Dr. Stefan Moritz telling the BBC, "The data collection is going very well, so we have good quality data, the mood is great and we are extremely satisfied with the discipline in wearing masks and using disinfectant."
The performer at all three concerts is German singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko, who told the BBC of the shows, "We really enjoyed it. At first I thought it would be very sterile because of the masks, but it felt surprisingly good. I hope that these results will help us to hold real concerts in front of an audience again soon."
