Loud Spittle Clouds, Singing, Live Music Hazard

"Just one minute of loud speech can produce over 1,000 coronavirus-containing droplets, a new study found.

These droplets can linger in the air for eight-plus minutes, presenting a "likely mode of disease transmission," the study authors said.

The research also suggests that louder speech produces a higher number of droplets."

https://www.businessinsider.com/loud-speech-coronavirus-droplets-study-2020-5



"Given that one milliliter of oral fluid contains approximately 7 million copies of the coronavirus (according to previous research), the authors of the new study determined that speaking loudly for just one minute can emit more than 1,000 virus-containing droplets.

Their work, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also shows that those droplets can then remain in the air for eight minutes or longer."

""there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments." 

That's consistent with a recent CDC analysis of a coronavirus outbreak at a choir practice in Washington state. Of the 61 attendees, 33 tested positive and another 22 developed suspected cases.

"The act of singing, itself, might have contributed to transmission through emission of aerosols, which is affected by loudness of vocalization," the CDC report said.

"The findings come as states begin lifting lockdowns, allowing businesses to reopen and permitting some social gatherings. In some places, unmasked crowds are defying social-distancing guidelines, sparking concerns about new outbreaks.

"We're not reopening based on science," Dr. Thomas Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The New York Times. 

"We're reopening based on politics, ideology, and public pressure. And I think it's going to end badly."