Asked by MLive to assess the risk of 36 activities—from going to the gym to getting on an airplane—medical experts evaluated each through the lens of five key factors: “whether it’s inside or outside; proximity to others; exposure time; likelihood of compliance; and personal risk level.” They then gave each activity a rating on a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the highest level of risk.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb At the top of the list with a score of nine was going to a bar or nightclub. Experts pointed to lower inhibitions due to alcohol consumption and people being in close proximity to each other as the main risk drivers. “After a couple of drinks, they’re starting to feel a little more invincible,” Nasir Husain, MD, Henry Ford Macomb medical director for infection prevention, told MLive. “And that’s when the trouble starts.” Matthew Sims, MD, Beaumont Health director of infectious disease research, added, “I’d probably give bars a 10. I’m really worried about bars.” For similar reasons—aside from the alcohol consumption of course—the doctors determined that going to church is an extremely high-risk activity when it comes to your chances of being exposed to coronavirus. And while they gave it a rating of eight, there is one factor that would make going to church just as risky as going to a bar. “If they add singing, then it’s on a par with bars,” Mimi Emig, MD, retired infectious disease specialist with Spectrum Health, told MLive. “People are going to hate that, but it’s the truth.” Emig’s statement isn’t just a matter of opinion, either. In recently published research in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found evidence that suggests the high potential of church choir rehearsals and performances to become super-spreader events. In fact, the CDC reported that after a choir rehearsed for two-and-a-half hours with one symptomatic member present, 87 percent of the group developed COVID-19—which resulted in three hospitalizations and two deaths. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. According to the study’s authors, singing—or talking loudly and closely in a crowded bar—are behaviors both capable of spreading the virus. “Aerosol emission during speech has been correlated with loudness of vocalization, and certain persons, who release an order of magnitude more particles than their peers, have been referred to as superemitters and have been hypothesized to contribute to superspeading events,” the researchers wrote. And for more on the spread of COVID-19, This Is Who’s Transmitting 45 Percent of Coronavirus Cases, Study Says.
