What does it mean?
"Covid-careful" is my own nickname for the general approach I'd plan to take.
Although I've worked more in music, I come from a fairly sciencey background (maths & computing degree), and I've been following the covid research as it's come out.
You will see from this page how determined I am to make the orchestra a welcoming place for the people for whom this is high stakes!
If you don't like this approach, then you won't like my events, and I would recommend that you don't come along and be annoyed :-)
But for the people who think it's basically a good idea, i.m.e. setting up these precautions doesn't mean being all serious all the time. Once it becomes routine, it's just one more part of the routine: "set it and forget".
Here's my thinking about covid precautions in general, and the orchestra's routines in particular.
To put it in a nutshell, we now know that the covid virus is primarily transmitted via floating in the air like smoke, from one person's out-breath to the next person's lungs.
Surface transmission doesn't seem to have been a big factor. So far, I've not actually seen conclusive proof that it's happening at all.
I'm not saying it's a waste of time to wash your hands; it's "being on the safe side", and of course other illnesses do transmit that way. But it doesn't make sense to focus on that and not on the air you're breathing in. If you care about covid risks at all, the air you're breathing is the main factor.
Sources I've found useful:
FAQs on Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission
Frequently Asked Questions about COVID19 in Classrooms
Masks for COVID: Updating the evidence
"Don't breathe it in" 1-minute health education video (same video as is embedded just above this)
In my "covid-careful" risk-management plan (based on the above science), the main protections would be
Comfortable FFP3 "respirator" masks for everyone, which seal fairly well around the face.
Good air-flow in the space, to limit the extent to which the virus can build up in the air.
Encouragement to skip a rehearsal if you might be infectious, including full refund of the money for the day.
Clear description of what precautions we're taking and why. This enables participants to
understand their role in helping to protect others, and
review for themself how the remaining risk compares with other risks they were taking.
A key advantage of making it a string orchestra (violin, cello, viola, double bass) is that players can wear masks even while playing.
Mask-wearing at rehearsals would be a rule for all, subject to disability exemptions.
Unlike on the bus or train, any disability exemptions might need a bit of discussion - in case there's also a player whose vulnerability means that they need everyone to be masked. This would be an example of "competing access needs". If possible, we would try to resolve this by positioning someone near the window, but if we need a tie-breaker, I'll say now that it's likely to be in favour of the person who does need us all in masks.
As the conductor, I would mask up too. If it proved helpful, I'd bring in a small PA unit to amplify my voice, and/or add a bit of Sign Supported English, such as signing the rehearsal letters.
(Rehearsal letters are alphabet letters used as landmarks through a piece of written music, so that you can say "Let's go from Letter D" or whatever, rather than having to start from the beginning every time. If you're hard of hearing, they're a particularly bothersome element of rehearsals even without masks, because of how many letter-names have similar sounds! Did the conductor say "from Letter D" or "from Letter G"?)
Of course, some people object to masks on principle, and therefore wouldn't join the orchestra. That's okay by me, because my priority for this project is to welcome the "people who need or want to be careful".
(If you're already at music "Grade 2" or above, and not being as covid-careful as we are, you may also be interested in the many musical opportunities for all ages at Music for Everyone.)
At the start of term, the orchestra would acquire a batch of comfortable FFP3 masks, the kind which last for many hours if aired in between uses. This would mean that people weren't individually lumbered with the task of finding good ones, and would set a bench-mark for quality. Unless I learn of a better brand, they would be 3M Aura, as pictured here.
In my experience so far, most people do find these comfortable to the face. They're relatively soft, and the shape means they don't flop on your mouth. When people don't like them, it's usually because they don't like straps behind their head, e.g. due to hairstyle conflict! It's possible to DIY-adapt these to have earloops instead. (This is discussed in the video below.)
Break-time plan would be figured out together with orchestra members in due course. We wouldn't be taking off masks indoors to drink; some players might like the option of making tea and drinking it outdoors. We'll talk about what would work best.
The type of mask does make an enormous difference, especially in the extent to which it can be made to fit properly. Different masks can all be technically FFP3 level, yet in practice not all equivalent to each other. Here's a video with some independent testing.
For that reason, people wouldn't just be able to bring their own favourite. If someone really didn't get on with these ones, I would do some research to verify whether their preferred one was equivalent.
A carbon dioxide (CO2) monitor can give a snapshot of air quality in a building.
I've visited the building where the orchestra will likely meet, and taken a few of these snapshot measurements.
To an extent, ventilation depends on weather conditions, so I don't feel I've fully scoped what'll be possible, but so far so good. For example, when 50 people were in, on a summer day with windows open, the CO2 level reached about 690-700ppm (quite good for indoors).
The number of people is relevant, because good air quality tends to be more difficult when there's lots of people in a space, all breathing out at the same time.
For learning/teaching reasons, 50 is around the maximum size I'd expect the orchestra to reach, anyway. If it got that popular, I'd start to think about splitting into multiple groups on different days.
Initially, I imagine we might not be much over 20 people, in a fairly big room. So we'd have time to do more measurements if/when the orchestra grew.
Powered air filters are another way to remove virus from the air, not reliant on opening windows and doors. If I did acquire some air filter units, that could potentially enable rehearsals to keep going longer into the cooler half of the year, when the fresh air input got chilly.
(The CO2 number doesn't capture the work of any air filters. When you have filtering happening as well, you have a bit more wiggle room to let the CO2 numbers go higher.)
I'd want to do some more research around effectiveness & cost of available air filtering technology, as that's not something I've thoroughly gone into yet.
The "six-million-dollar question" (which has been on my mind since I first had the idea) is how far into the autumn or winter we could play, before the necessary fresh air made the venue too chilly for comfort.
That challenge would come up in most buildings in the UK; even many of the Victorian ones, built when fresh air was a priority, have been altered since.
For this reason, I think it's likely that the orchestra would stop rehearsals for at least a few months over the colder half of the year, and perhaps just have a few online events to keep things ticking over.
Distancing: We'd have to experiment with what spacing between players made sense. Each player would have a separate music stand - which is preferable for beginners, anyway.
Testing: I'm cautious of relying too much on testing as a protection, because lateral flow tests do give false negatives sometimes. However, I would encourage testing for anyone who had reason to think it was a good idea. We might look into bulk-sourcing tests for orchestra-day use.
Update Spring 2023: Recent research has shown that back-of-the-throat swabs are likely to find the virus much earlier than nose swabs. So it's risky to rely on just the nose results! If you're testing at all, it's best to do both.
Vaccines: I'm generally in favour of covid vaccines, because evidence suggests they make the illness significantly less deadly if you catch it. They also help your body to react more quickly with symptoms, enabling you to realise that you're infectious. On the other hand, the current vaccines don't completely stop you catching and transmitting the virus. Therefore, at a community level, it's no guarantee, and I consider good masks & air quality more crucial. On balance, I wouldn't currently require vaccination to join the orchestra.
Handwashing: Strictly speaking, I don't even think this belongs in a list of covid protections. But as I mentioned above, it's not a bad idea anyway, because of other illnesses.
Despite all this care and science, I can't give an absolute guarantee that no-one could ever catch covid from coming to the orchestra!
I do think that for most people, this environment would be among the safest environments they visit. Even most hospitals and dentists in the UK are currently nowhere near this consistent about masking and air quality.
To a large extent, players would be able to check for themselves that the precautions were being consistently followed. Orchestra members would be able to check the CO2 monitor for themselves, and in the rehearsal room, would be able to see if anyone took their mask off indoors. A risk remains that a careless person could remove their mask privately in the loos, and, if infectious at the time, make the air in there less safe.
I'm happy to discuss with anyone - especially the "covid-vulnerable" people - how to maximise safety for everyone.