Jason PlautzScience's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.As U.S.
schools and colleges debate how to reopen amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, band directors and musicians are wondering when—or whether—music can be played safely.
A new study finds that while musical instruments do generate airborne particles that could carry SARS-CoV-2, the risks for performers and audience may be manageable.There is almost no research on whether musical instruments produce the airborne particles—or aerosols—that can transmit the novel coronavirus.
So it’s impossible to know whether keeping 2 meters away is enough to stay safe from a trumpet at full blast.Without data, schools were already cutting band.