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Do you want to go to a concert again? This case is for you.
On Wednesday, tickets for Post Malone in Bergen were ripped off. 22,000 are scheduled to see it live on Koengen in June. Nobody knows if it will be possible.
But with the right precautions, it could work. Aftenposten has outlined what measures can affect the 2021 concert year. We turn to the thread of security guru Martin Holmes, one of the country’s leading experts on the matter.
-Oh oj oj … We have a lot to talk about, says Holmes.
The government decides if 22,000 people can see Post Malone. Decisions are based on the advice of health authorities.
At this time, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) believes that having a maximum of 200 seated spectators is justified. But the organizers hope it will change. These are the relevant measures:
Martin Holmes is Head of Security for Bergen Live and Live Nation Norway. Think of infection control like slices of Swiss cheese. Each measure has its holes. But if you put a lot of slices (measures) on top of each other, all the holes are covered.
– The objective is to make the event a safe area. There will be almost no safer places to be, says Holmes.
He’s now making plans for the Post Malone concert, among other things. If it is to be carried out, the artist must necessarily be authorized to enter the country. And for financial reasons, the stop in Norway should preferably be part of a larger tour.
– We hope that Europe can function as a bubble in which vaccinated artists can cross borders without a new quarantine.
Here comes the first big question, which will apply to artists as well as employees and the public. How many have been vaccinated?
As soon as you know more about vaccination, the organizers have a good way to get an overview. Through ticket systems like Ticketmaster, you can connect the ticket to a vaccine certificate. Ticketmaster has created a function for this.
– For those who do not want to be vaccinated, we have the rapid test as a potential ace up our sleeve. The question is whether the combination of the two can allow us to move away from the principle of distancing. We need to clear this up with the authorities, Holmes says.
The idea is that negative rapid tests or vaccine evidence could be an admission criterion. Ideally, Holmes anticipates that the audience will take the test in advance. For example, through pharmacies or approved testing stations. Alternatively, they can test themselves on site, as was done in the experiment in Barcelona.
Currently there are many unanswered questions. The rapid tests Norway has access to today provide answers in 15 minutes. Others give answers much faster. But rapid tests are generally less accurate than laboratory tests. The rapid tests that have been used in Oslo have been shown to have a 74 percent chance that a sick person will get the correct answer.
Therefore, Holmes believes that they will be a substitute for other measures. And during the pandemic, organizers have found ways to adapt most things.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has a tool for risk analysis of events during the pandemic. According to their experts, the following factors may lower the risk, among others:
A round of calls shows that the organizers have made plans for these factors.
Aftenposten has asked FHI to take a position on the measures.
Anyone who is vaccinated in Norway will be able to print Helsenorge vaccination cards, not themselves. It can be used as documentation for organizers. But Preben Aavitsland points out that it is not yet known to what extent vaccination prevents infection and contagion. We only know that the vaccine protects against diseases. The NIPH hopes to learn more about the infection and contagion in those vaccinated in February / March.
– Therefore, it is currently not relevant to create a certificate that exempts the vaccinated person from restrictions, he says.
Aavitsland is also not sure how quickly testing can come into play.
– It is possible that long-term rapid tests could play a role in eliminating infected participants, but at the moment we believe that they are not useful for this in practice. This is because tests cannot always detect viruses in people without symptoms in the first place. They can give a false sense of security, he says.
Aavitsland likes hygiene plans, hearing control, and infection tracking. He describes them as smart and sensible.
FHI considers the fever measurement at the beginning of the concert to be of little value, as this method is a highly uncertain indicator of corona. Otherwise, the use of a mouthpiece is recommended where the risk of infection is high and a distance of one meter cannot be observed.
At the moment, the most important infection control is “the distance and the number of participants,” explains Preben Aavitsland. Distance reduces the risk of infection. Fewer participants reduce the risk of someone bringing an infection to the event. It also makes it easier to track infections.
Aavitsland believes it is too early to say whether the measures described in this article can lead to easing the restrictions.
– We take into account that this virus loves meetings of people. This is when the virus can spread to many, says Aavitsland.
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