Last week, 26 choir singers in Denmark's radio choir tested positive for covid-19, and recently Dagens Nyheter reported that 19 of 45 members of the Gothenburg Opera's choir have been affected.
The outbreak at the Gothenburg Opera is believed to have started at a rehearsal on December 2, when several of the choristers who participated must have felt unwell afterwards.
- We have stopped all activities with the choir and other large groups immediately so that nothing more happens, says Henning Ruhe, artistic director at the Gothenburg Opera.
Few repeat
Among Sweden's most well-known choirs - the Royal Opera Choir, the Norrland Opera Choir, the Malmö Opera Choir, the Gothenburg Opera Choir and the Radio Choir - only the Radio Choir still has physical rehearsals with 16-20 choir singers.
- We follow developments in the world and in other choirs, but we are not infection control experts who make their own assessments, but we follow the Public Health Agency's recommendations, says Josef Beltzikoff, Choir and Orchestra Director for the Radio Choir.
Infection despite measures
The fact that the corona virus is spreading rapidly among choir singers is not in itself new.
In August, several singers were infected at the Norrland Opera, despite the choir taking safety measures.
- We took all protective measures and received help to plan the activities together with an epidemiologist, yet the infection spread, says Petra Kangas, communications manager at Norrlandsoperan.
After a deteriorating corona situation, Germany is facing a period of even stricter restrictions - from Wednesday 15 December, a special ban on church singing will be introduced, reports the Christian daily Dagen.
Also applies to amateurs
Henning Ruhe at the Gothenburg Opera thinks it is extra sad that the choirs are silent just at Christmas time.
- This applies not only to professional choirs but also to all amateurs, how nice is it not to sing Christmas carols together within the family ?, he says.