LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) – About 1,500 volunteers equipped with face masks, hand sanitizer and gadget tracking attended an indoor concert in Germany on Saturday as part of a study to simulate how the novel coronavirus spreads in large gatherings.
As part of the so-called Restart19 study, researchers from the University Medical Center in Halle want to find out how cultural and sporting events can take place safely without posing a risk to the population.
Volunteers received protective facades of the type typically used in hospitals and bottles with fluorescent hand replacements at the concert of German singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko in an indoor arena in Leipzig.
“I am extremely pleased with the discipline displayed by the participants,” Stefan Moritz, head of the study, told a news conference after the concert. “I was amazed at how disciplined everyone was in wearing masks.”
He said results of the study, which is funded by the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, were expected in 4-6 weeks.
Participants were also given contact persons to help track the distance between concert-goers and to identify in which parts of the arena, such as entrance halls and grandstands, people might be crawling too close together.
Researchers asked participants to regularly disinfect their hands with the fluorescent sanitizer so that scientists – using ultraviolet light – can identify which surfaces are frequently touched and pose a risk of spreading the virus.
Sporting events such as Liverpool’s Champions League football match against Atletico Madrid and the Cheltenham Festival, an equestrian event, in Britain in March have been accused of playing a role in the spread of COVID-19.
Most events with large crowds are put on hold.
A decision to approve a concert by German singer Sarah Connor with 13,000 attendees on September 4 in Düsseldorf has been sharply criticized by virologists and local politicians.
Report by Reuters TV, Caroline Copley and Christoph Steitz; Edited by Frances Kerry
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