There are Covid-19 bubbles – small groups of friends or family members who agree to socialize exclusively with each other during the pandemic – and there are the types of bubbles that Flaming Lips used at recent shows.
Band members and concertgoers rocked and jumped as they were wrapped in large individual plastic bubbles amid bright spinning lights in mind-blowing scenes at Oklahoma City Fridays and Saturdays.
The band took elaborate precautions in their live performances to protect themselves against coronavirus transmission, but some health experts were unsure about the effectiveness of these measures.
“I would need to see how the air exchange was taking place between the outside and inside of the bubbles to be able to tell if it was safe for everyone or if the risk of transmission was reduced,” said Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña, director of global health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, NY
The shows on Friday and Saturday were originally scheduled for December, but the band postponed them because of the increase in Covid-19 cases in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
“It’s a very restricted and strange event,” the band’s lead singer, Wayne Coyne, told Rolling Stone last month. “But the strange thing is that we can enjoy a show before putting our families and everyone at risk.”
“I think it is a little more normal,” he added. “You can go to a show, you can’t, but I think we’re going to be able to work this out.”
In March, Coyne posted a sketch on Instagram showing what the bubble show would be like.
Nathan Poppe, a cameraman and photographer who documents the show for the band, said on Twitter that the floor was mounted on a grid of 10 bubbles by 10 bubbles. “Each bubble can contain one person or two or maybe three,” he said.
The photos showed fans entering the spheres on the concert floor, where the bubbles were inflated with leaf blowers.
Each bubble came equipped with high frequency speaker, water bottle, fan, towel and a plate if someone had to use the bathroom or if it was too hot inside. If it gets too stuffy inside, the bubble can be refilled with cold air, Poppe said.
He said concertgoers could take their masks out of the bubble, but they had to wear them after coming out of the bubble.
“You roll your bubble to the exit and unzip the door,” he said.
It was not clear what happened to the bubbles used after the 90-minute presentations, which were attended by about 200 people each.
Some health experts were concerned about the safety of users inside the bubbles.
“There is no evidence on the effectiveness – or lack thereof – of these blisters from the point of view of transmitting infectious diseases,” said Dr. Sandro Galea, dean of the School of Public Health at Boston University.
He said that controlling the transmission of the virus depends on good air circulation and filtration.
“So, in theory, if the air filtration is good, the protective barriers can increase and reduce the risk of transmission, but I would hesitate to watch a bubble show at the moment, unless it has been evaluated in more detail. “, he said.
Dr. Cioe-Peña said that the plastic bubbles used in the shows appeared to have no ventilation. But if each of the bubbles “had a supply of bidirectionally filtered air,” he said, “it would effectively prevent Covid’s transmission between the bubbles.”
While a plastic bubble can help reduce exposure to “infectious agents” if it is filled with filtered air, it can also lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide inside the bubble, said Richard E. Peltier, associate professor of science at environmental health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“My recommendation would be to add a small CO2 sensor to the bubble,” he said. “Although they are not always the most accurate, they should be sufficient to tell a viewer that it is time to take a break and refresh that addicted air. And then enjoy the music again safely. “