Endemic phase does not mean we are ready for live concerts just yet, says expert
With news of Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber coming to Kuala Lumpur this October, fans are undoubtedly excited to attend and tickets have sold out already.
But the question that comes to mind is - are we even ready for live concerts?
Public health specialist and professor at MAHSA University Prof Dr Hematram Yadav does not think we are just yet.
When contacted by Sinar Daily, he first said that such a huge event must be exercised with caution.
As Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, and Malaysia slowly entering into the endemic phase, one can clearly see the amount of crowded, public events occurring and becoming more commonplace.
Weddings are no longer being held virtually, and event spaces are being booked almost everyday now.
“But an endemic does not automatically mean everything is allowed.
“My issue with this is that a celebrity as big as Justin Bieber means it’s going to be massive, and there’s no way for SOPs to be practised throughout an auditorium,” he said.
He added that it is almost as if everything is being allowed all at once, which can only spell danger in terms of Covid-19 clusters.
“You can’t just rely on the government to enforce such laws and policies regarding SOPs. Although the public is well aware of them, there’s always going to be infections here and there.
“I am of the opinion that we need to slow down and let the country get used to everything opening up before allowing auditoriums to be filled with people - vaccinated or unvaccinated,” he told Sinar Daily.
Dr Hematram also added that there is no surefire way to keep that amount of people under control, even if most Malaysians are generally compliant when it comes to Covid-19 SOPs.
“A lot of things can happen, masks will come off when things get too stuffy and everyone’s in the moment. We can’t expect security guards to keep everyone in check when the concert starts,” he explained.
The bulk of the responsibility to ensure minimal spread of Covid-19, he said, rests on the shoulders of the concert organisers.
Depending on how the organisers are planning to hold the event, the numbers might not be as damaging as it could be.
One example of how this could be done is by adhering to the capacity settings set by the Health Ministry. Reduced capacity in an enclosed space and a mask-on at all times rule will definitely help in preventing too many clusters forming.
On a more worrying note, Cleveland Clinic reported that singing expels virus-infected droplets into the air, which then accumulate and linger for a sustained period of time in crowded indoor spaces.
This means that live concerts will still end up being a “superspreader event”.
Head of Entertainment at Future Sound Asia Wan Alman Ariffin on the other hand, reassured that the organisers for the sold out Justin Bieber concert especially, are very experienced.
“The show is in October so hopefully by then the number of cases will be much lower as a downward trend can already be seen.
“SOPs are constantly being updated in accordance with how the nation progresses so it is hard to gauge what they will be like by the time October comes around,” he said.
He believed that masks and being fully vaccinated will definitely still be a requirement in order to reduce the development of new clusters, but nothing is 100 percent foolproof.
“What makes the difference is how you manage that element of risk. I believe that if you have a solid security, health and safety plan in place, you’ll be able to keep the risks at a minimum,” he added.
Civic responsibility, he said, makes up the other side of the equation.
In this case, concert goers must ensure that they’re fully vaccinated and adhere to all required health and safety SOPs.
“It would be best to not attend the concert if you are feeling sick or experiencing any symptoms,” Wan Alman said.
