Concert for 5,000 held in Barcelona, ​​Spain as part of a trial of safe reopening measures took place with no sign of increased incidence of Covid-19 among participants tested two weeks later.

This is what researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in Barcelona found who studied the concert which took place without social distancing but with face masks on March 27 at the Palau Sant Jordi arena. The venue is just 1.5 kilometers from the Fira de Barcelona, ​​Gran Via site, where the first of four two-day ISE fairs will be held in Europe in June.

Although the researchers concluded that this was not a “wide spread event”, six people present at the concert tested positive for Covid-19 within a fortnight after the concert. However, that was half the infection rate for people of the same age in Barcelona and researchers are convinced that at least four of the six people were infected elsewhere.

“There is no indication that transmission took place during the event,” infectious disease specialist Josep Maria Llibre told a press conference on Tuesday. “By analyzing the available data, the possibility that these people contracted the virus during the event is minimal. “

The Love of Lesbian group concert was organized by Festivals per la Cultura Segura, a collaboration between some of Barcelona’s biggest concert organizers.

To access the concert, ticket buyers had to have tested negative for Covid-19. Spectators also had to download a smartphone app loaded with their test result. This generated a QR code which allowed the user to access the show.

All participants were then given and required to wear an FFP2 face mask, ventilation was improved at the site and the crowd was divided into three zones but was able to move without restrictions.

A previous pilot event had been organized under the same conditions at the Sala Apolo theater in Barcelona in December when none of the 463 participants had been infected with Covid-19.

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