Blazing Lips Using plastic bubbles at parties leaves Covid-19 experts unsure

over there Covid-19 bubbles – Small groups of friends or family who have agreed to socialize exclusively with one another during the pandemic – then there are the kinds of bubbles Flaming Lips have used at their recent concerts.

Band members and party-goers rocked and danced while covered in large single plastic bubbles amid bright circular lights in triple scenes at concerts on Fridays and Saturdays in Oklahoma City.

Her band I have taken detailed precautions In its live shows to protect against transmission of the coronavirus, some health experts were not sure of the effectiveness of these measures.

“I will need to know how the air exchange between outer and inner bubbles occurs so that I can determine if it is safe at all or reduces the risk of transmission,” said Dr. Eric Siu-Peña, Director of the Bubbles Division. Global Health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York

The Friday and Saturday concerts were originally scheduled for December, however The band put them off Due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the Oklahoma City metro area.

“It’s a very bizarre, restricted event,” captain Wayne Quinn, Rolling Stone last month. “But the strange thing is that we are enjoying a concert before putting our families and everyone else at risk.”

“I think it’s a new kind of normal,” he added. “You might go to a show, and you might not go to it, but I think we’ll be able to fix the problem.”

In March, Mr Quinn Post a schematic diagram On Instagram it shows what a bubble party looks like.

Nathan Pope is a videographer and photographer documenting the show for the band, He said on Twitter That the floor was set up in a grid of 10 bubbles by 10 bubbles. He said, “Each bubble may contain one or two people, or maybe three.”

Pictures showed fans climbing inside Balls are on the party floor, as bubbles are then blown with leaf blowers.

Every bubble came equipped With high frequency speaker, water bottle, fan, towel and marker If someone has to use the bathroom or it is very hot inside. If it’s too clogged on the inside, the bubble can be refilled with cold air, Mr. Bobby said.

He said that attendees can take off their masks inside the bubble, but they have to wear them after leaving the bubble.

He said, “You roll your bubble to the exit and decompress it at the door.”

It was not immediately clear what happened to the bubbles used after the 90-minute presentations, which were attended by about 200 people each.

Some health experts had concerns about the safety of users inside the bubbles.

“There is no evidence of the effectiveness – or lack of – of these bubbles from the standpoint of infectious disease transmission,” said Dr. Sandro Gallia, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health.

He said that controlling virus transmission depends on good air circulation and filtration.

“So, in theory, if the air filtration was good, protective barriers could usefully increase and reduce the risk of transmission, but I would be hesitant to attend a concert in a bubble at the moment unless this is evaluated further,” he said.

Dr Cioe-Peña said the plastic bubbles used in concerts seemed to be airless. But if each of the bubbles had a “two-way filter air source”, he said, “this would effectively prevent the transmission of Covid between bubbles.”

While a plastic bubble could help reduce exposure to “infectious agents” if filled with filtered air, it could also lead to higher levels of carbon dioxide within the bubble, said Richard E. Peltier, associate professor of environmental health sciences at the university. . Massachusetts Amherst.

“My recommendation is to add a small carbon dioxide sensor to the bubble,” he said. “Although it is not always the most accurate, it should be sufficient to tell one of the attendees that it is time to rest and renew this old air. Then come back to enjoy the music safely.”