Image credit: Yvette de Witte

Infection Rate at Event of 5,000 in Barcelona Lower Than That of General Population

by | Apr 29, 2021 | Industry, Stories | 0 comments

Image of spotlights from a stage shining over a nightlife/festival crowd by Yvette de Witte.

A test event conducted at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona last month set out to determine whether gatherings increase rates of COVID-19 transmission. Of the 5,000 in attendance, six tested positive within 14 days of the concert – half the rate of all city inhabitants in the same age group.

BBC reports that researchers required entrants to wear masks but not socially distance. They determined that only two of the six who tested positive contracted the virus at the event; the remaining four came in contact with it elsewhere.

Josep Maria Llibre, a Spanish doctor specializing in infectious diseases, gave an encouraging outlook based on the data. “There is no sign that suggests transmission took place during the event,” he said.

Headlining the event was Love of Lesbian, a Spanish indie-pop band. They tweeted: “We hope that from now on, after these excellent results, the world of culture will be listened to as it deserves to be.”

Spanish officials have taken a relatively proactive approach to researching COVID-19 transmission at live events. Sala Apolo in Barcelona hosted an experiment to determine the efficacy of rapid testing at events in October, and a similar test pilot program was proposed for Spain’s Catalonia region in February.

Test events with thousands of participants have also been organized in Germany and the Netherlands, among other locations.

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