“Musicians’ Union leader Horace Trubridge told the BBC they could play ‘side by side’ to lessen the risk of spreading coronavirus,” writes Justin Parkinson in Saturday’s (6/6) BBC News (U.K.). “The 2meter rule was ‘overkill’ at a ‘bleak’ time for his members, he added. The government said it welcomed ‘creative and innovative’ ideas to help the UK’s ‘brilliant’ musicians. Coronavirus means theatres, pubs, clubs and other indoor music venues will be closed for the foreseeable future…. The Labour-affiliated Musicians’ Union is in talks with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport over ‘enhanced busking’—allowing spectators in outdoor spaces to make contactless payments for individual and group performances.… Mr. Trubridge argued it was difficult to see a way of easing social distancing for audiences … but that this was not the case for performers.… ‘If you’re in a line rather than looking at each other, then [the 2m rule] seems to be overkill,’ Mr. Trubridge said.… The World Health Organization recommends a distance of 1m between people from different households, but the UK is sticking to the 2m rule. Mr. Trubridge said this distance was particularly unnecessary for string instrumentalists, … as they could wear masks.”
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