Could singing spread coronavirus more than talking? Here’s what experts say

As places of worship begin to reopen across the country, some officials are urging them to consider holding off on public singing as experts fear singing could spread coronavirus easier than talking.

When planning for reopening, Florida pastor Doug Sides said he decided to not have parishioners sing after an emergency room nurse expressed concern, causing Sides to consult with health officials, The Washington Post reported.

“I will take heat for my decision from those who will say I have no faith,” he told the newspaper. “It just makes good sense to me.”

Choirs across the world have been hit hard with the virus.

In March, a singer exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms infected 52 people at a choir gathering in Washington, nearly two weeks before stay-at-home orders were implemented in the state, McClatchy News previously reported.

Two choir members died and three more were hospitalized, according to the report.

While the singers sat less than a foot apart and shared snacks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that singing may have been a factor, McClatchy reported.

“The act of singing, itself, might have contributed to transmission through emission of aerosols, which is affected by loudness of vocalization,” the CDC report says.

Nearly 60 singers from Berlin’s Protestant choir in Germany also fell ill with coronavirus, The Guardian reported, as well as 102 choristers with the Amsterdam Mixed Choir.

Does singing spread coronavirus?

Coronavirus is believed to spread primarily when a person breathes in the respiratory droplets of an infected person after they cough or sneeze, according to the CDC. The agency recommends people stay at least 6 feet apart to help prevent the spread.

Projecting your voice, like you do when singing, could cause droplets to travel farther than 6 feet, Business Insider reported.

“These droplets are usually transmitted within three to six feet, but these droplets can be pushed farther out, sometimes even beyond six feet, if you give the exhalation more energy, with a cough or a sneeze or even singing,” William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told the outlet.

A 2019 study published in Nature found that projecting your voice louder increases aerosol emissions. Researchers also referenced another study on the spread of tuberculosis which found that singing produced six times more droplets than talking — about the same as a cough.

Some virologists also believe singers are at increased risk for contracting coronavirus as they breathe deeper into their diaphragms while singing than they do normally, The Guardian reported.

Others say singing, itself, isn’t the problem.

Professor Christian Kähler of the Military University, Munich, told The Guardian that he studied the strength of airflow from singers and found that “singing is quite safe,” as air was only propelled about 1.5 feet in front of a singer — not far enough to “cause the infection levels of these outbreaks,” The Guardian reported.

He believes a lack of social distancing is a more likely culprit for transmission among choir members, according to the outlet.

Still, Boston epidemiologist Jeff Schlegelmilch said it’s hard to give definitive advice on whether to allow public singing, the Post reported.

“It’s always safer to say no,” he told the newspaper. “You have a lot of people in an enclosed space for a period of time.”

No public singing?

As municipalities begin to allow places of worship to reopen following coronavirus closures, some are suggesting a ban on public singing.

In its guidance to churches, California health officials warned that group singing and recitation offset the benefits of social distancing, recommending that worship centers consider discontinuing public singing, choir practices and performances as they could increase the “likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets.”

Instead, health officials recommend limiting the number of people singing or reciting, implementing social distancing measures and moving any group singing outside if it can’t be stopped altogether.

In Germany, officials are also considering putting a ban on public singing as places of worship reopen, The Guardian reported.

Some drafts of reopening guidelines have banned group singing and wind instruments due to “amplified precipitation of potentially infectious drops,” according to the outlet. Others, however, say they believe quiet singing and praying is possible so long as proper social distancing is maintained among congregants.