❑❑❑ Choir practice in Spain infects 30:

gatherings Wednesday as the numbers of virus cases and hospitalizations mount. (AP)

At least 30 of 41 members of a gospel choir in northeastern Spain have contracted coronavirus following a rehearsal indoors with little air circulation, local authorities and the chorus say.

The River Troupe Gospel, a volunteer gospel group, rehearsed on Sept 11 ahead of an open-air performance two days later for a local festival in Sallent, a town in the province of Barcelona. It was their first public show since the beginning of the pandemic.

After one member of the chorus tested positive following the Sept. 13 performance, more than 40 other members and their close contacts went into isolation, the chorus said. Since then, at least 30 singers have tested positive, the Sallent municipal government said.

Although the chorus claims that it complied with most health safety measures – temperature checks on arrival, hand washing, social distancing between each member and masks on for most of the rehearsal – the venue’s windows were closed to avoid moths and mosquitoes. The group said it had switched on air conditioning to fight the heat.

It was not known if any relatives of the singers also became infected.

Experts have acknowledged that in certain circumstances, like during medical procedures or when people are in close indoor spaces singing or shouting, COVID-19 can spread in the air. (AP)