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Fifty-three members of a US choir contracted coronavirus in a 'superspreader' event!

WION Web Team
New York, New York, United States of AmericaUpdated: May 27, 2020, 04:52 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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The rehearsal was held nearly two weeks before the state's stay-at-home order, and people were not wearing masks.

Coronavirus trackers are calling a choir practice in Washington, US that happened in March a superspreader event -- which goes on to illustrate how easily the deadly virus can pass from person to person.

Scientists have already found choir members to be susceptible to contracting the virus, but they believe singing is not the only pathway of the spread. The novel coronavirus is likely spread when choir members greet each other, share drinks and talk closely with each other.

In this case, however, the act of singing itself may have spread the virus in the air and onto surfaces, according to a report from Skagit County Public Health published on Tuesday.

The virus is thought to primarily spread through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Two choir members died of COVID-19 after attending the March 10 practice of the Skagit Valley Chorale.

The rehearsal was held nearly two weeks before the state's stay-at-home order, and people were not wearing masks.

The singers felt their first symptoms -- cough, fever, muscle pain or headaches -- one to 12 days after the practice. 

Of the 61 people attending the event, 53 fell ill, which is an 87 per cent infection rate.

Another example of a superspreader choir was from Amsterdam. As many as 102 people -- of its 130 members -- were infected.

Experts now suggest the event explains how easily coronavirus can pass from one person to another -- though studies conducted by the World Health Organisation say the virus mainly spreads through larger droplets that don't stay in the air.