The Trump administration with no advance notice removed warnings contained in guidance for the reopening of houses of worship that singing in choirs can spread the coronavirus.
The pastor of Assembly of God in Redwood Valley, is among three people diagnosed with the coronavirus after participating in a Mother’s Day livestream service with singing, according to officials. It is the second church in Northern California linked to the spread of the coronavirus
“Singing together in congregations is a practice that we dearly love and are eager to promote," says Rev. John Witvliet, an expert on Christian worship, "but loving our neighbor is job one here and so the time for fasting from this wonderful practice may be
Disease trackers are calling a choir practice in Washington state a superspreader event that illustrates how easily the coronavirus can pass from person to person. The act of singing itself may have spread the virus in the air and onto surfaces, according to a report from
While Germany’s federal government makes plans for tracing infection chains and reopening public facilities, churches across Germany are developing their own plans for how to restart worship with new regulations such as compulsory face masks, prohibition of physical contact, and restrictions on congregational singing.
While many churches are thinking in terms of weeks when it comes to gathering again in person, new information suggests that it may be months or years before group singing is once again safe.
Lothar Wieler, the head of the German government’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, specifically warned on Tuesday that communal singing was ill-advised. “Evidence shows that during singing, the virus drops appear to fly particularly far,” he said.
A Chorus America study found that older choral singers reported a better quality of life and better overall health than non-singers they knew.