Singing Happy Birthday Can Spread Droplets In Air, Increase COVID-19 Risk

COVID-19 has ruined so many things, and this includes birthdays. Many people couldn’t go out and celebrate their birthday thanks to the pandemic-causing novel coronavirus.?

Most were locked indoors, celebrating it with their family while many conducted online parties on video conferencing apps.?

Unsplash

However, in case you’re one of the few who hates standing clueless while everyone sings happy birthday, you’ve got a reason to ask people to not sing it for you.

A study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden reveals that singing songs like 'happy birthday' with P and B sounds could spread a ton of aerosol particles in the air, increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection.

In order to understand the way aerosol particles move, researchers asked 12 healthy singers as well as two people who were suffering from the novel coronavirus to sing a Swedish song called ‘'Bibbis pippi Petter’ directly into a funnel.

Researchers observed the movement of aerosol particles and larger droplets with the help of lamps, high speed cameras and an instrument that measures tiny particles.?

Lund University

Malin Alsved, a doctoral student and co-author of the study explained, “The enunciation of consonants releases very large droplets and the letters B and P stand out as the biggest aerosol spreaders.” Another song that has a lot of B and P sounds is the Happy Birthday song.?

In fact, it showed that people who sang loudly were also the ones spreading the most aerosol and droplets in the air.?

Alsved further said, “We also carried out measurements of virus in the air close to two people who sang when they had Covid-19. Their air samples contained no detectable amount of virus, but the viral load can vary in different parts of the airways and between different people. Accordingly, aerosols from a person with Covid-19 may still entail a risk of infection when singing.”

Does this mean we should stop singing entirely?

Regardless of how cringy the birthday boy or girl might feel, eliminating the song out of the equation surely doesn’t sound right. Researchers state that this doesn’t mean we should stop singing entirely. Wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing with good hygiene and in a place with good ventilation will? reduce the risk,?

Unsplash

?Study author Jakob L?ndahl, says, “Singing does not need to be silenced, but presently it should be done with appropriate measures to reduce the risk of spreading infection.”