Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented shutdown in social and economic activity, with the cultural sector particularly severely affected. Restrictions on musical performances have arisen from a perception that there is a significantly higher risk of aerosol production from singing than speaking, based upon high-profile examples of clusters of COVID-19 following choral rehearsals. However, comparing aerosol generation from different types of vocalization, including singing, across a range of volumes is a rapidly evolving area of research. Here, we measured aerosols from singing, speaking and breathing from a large cohort of 25 professional singers in a range of musical genres in a zero-background environment, allowing unequivocal attribution of aerosol production to specific vocalizations. We do not assess the relative volumes at which people speak and sing. However, both showed steep increases in mass concentration with increase in loudness (spanning a factor of 20–30 across the dynamic range measured, p < 0.001). At the quietest volume (50 to 60 dBA), neither singing (p = 0.19) nor speaking (p = 0.20) were significantly different to breathing. At the loudest volume (90 to 100 dBA), a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) was observed between singing and speaking, but with singing only generating a factor of between 1.5 and 3.4 more aerosol mass. Guidelines for musical performances should be based on the loudness and duration of the vocalization, the number of participants and the environment in which the activity occurs, rather than the type of vocalization. Mitigations such as the use of amplification and increased attention to ventilation should be employed where practicable.

Copyright © 2021 American Association for Aerosol Research

摘要

严重的急性呼吸综合症冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）大流行导致社会和经济活动空前关闭，尤其是文化部门受到严重影响。对音乐表演的限制源于一种看法，即在进行合唱排练之后，COVID-19簇的出现明显地证明了唱歌产生的气溶胶产生的风险比说话的可能性高得多。但是，比较各种音量下包括发声在内的各种发声方式产生的气溶胶是一个快速发展的研究领域。在这里，我们在零背景的环境下，从一大批25位专业歌手的唱歌，说话和呼吸中测量了气溶胶，这些人来自一系列音乐流派的25位专业歌手，明确地将气溶胶生产归因于特定发声。我们不评估人们说话和唱歌的相对音量。但是，两者都显示出随着浓度的增加，质量浓度急剧增加（在所测量的动态范围内跨度为20–30，p  <0.001）。在最安静的音量（50至60 dBA）下，唱歌（p  = 0.19）和讲话（p  = 0.20）都与呼吸没有显着差异。在最大音量（90到100 dBA）下， 在唱歌和说话之间观察到统计学上的显着差异（p <0.001），但是唱歌只会产生1.5到3.4倍的气溶胶质量系数。音乐表演的指导原则应基于发声的响度和持续时间，参与者的人数和活动进行的环境，而不是发声的类型。在可行的情况下，应采取缓解措施，例如使用扩音器和增加对通风的注意。

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