SANTIAGO — Vaccinated Chileans on Thursday night attended the first of a series of concerts that will be studied in a clinical trial to see if mass events like concerts can safely resume without spreading COVID.
The trial is the result of a tie-up between Chile’s Musical Authors and Performers’ Society and the University of Chile to assess contagion risks at such events and try to get the live music industry back on its feet after the near-fatal blow dealt by the COVID pandemic and lengthy lockdowns in Chile.
A total of 200 seats will be available for each of three concerts given by local rock band Chancho En Piedra over the next three months in a carefully ventilated venue in the capital Santiago. Attendees must show proof of vaccination, wear masks and submit to PCR tests prior to the event and again eight days after. Preliminary results will be issued in September.
Vaccinated Chileans enjoy the Chancho en Piedra band during a concert as part of a study of the Hospital Clinico de la Universidad de Chile for the Covid-19 pandemic, in Santiago, Chile, on Aug. 26, 2021.Similar trials have been conducted with audiences of several thousand people attending rock concerts in