Shouting and singing in crowds help Covid-19 spread, top immunologist says

Professor Luke O'Neill said studies continue to show that there is a much higher risk of catching the virus indoors rather than outdoors

Shouting and singing is a huge cause of spreading the coronavirus, a top immunologist has said.

Trinity College Biochemistry Professor Luke O'Neill has said new epidemiological studies of the virus have shown the act of shouting in a crowded area is a major factor in spreading Covid-19.

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, Prof O'Neill said: "What's very clear is you catch it [the virus] in certain places, not others.

"That's going to be very important if we face going into another lockdown.

"It's where crowds gather is where the risk is. At a very enclosed space with one person infected, [they] can spread it to many.

"What really spreads it is shouting and singing.

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"A good example is the meat packing factories. They're very noisy places and people shout a lot there and of course all the people live together very often in less than satisfactory accommodation - that's a super spreading event.

"Loudness in crowds seems to be a huge factor in spreading the disease."

Speaking about areas that have been identified as places where the virus can spread rapidly Professor O'Neill spoke of the high number of outbreaks reported on cruise ships when the pandemic first kicked off.

He said: "Cruise ships are perfect places for this, because they're [passengers] all indoors for some of it, they're all shouting in the bars and places. So that really stands out."

O'Neill added that studies showed some that exercise group activities contributed to the spread of the virus adding that studies show people are much more likely to catch the virus indoors rather than outside.

"A strange one is Zumba classes. Now this is how detailed the epidemiology can be. Especially in Japan this was done, they looked at different types of classes and in Zumba it spread and in Pilates it didn't.

"And they reckon the reason is because Zumba is much more intense form of exercise with the huffing and puffing and so on."

"If you're indoors, you have a 19-fold increased risk of getting infected than if you're outdoors.

"So the longer you're indoors in an enclosed space with a super spreader the more risk there is of getting infected."