Returning to the dance studio safely (covid-19)

[DanceMentor]

So I suppose now in many places it is arguably not legal to go to the dance studio, but hopefully there is going to come a time soon where we are feeling increasingly safe and we are able to start dancing more. I was just trying to think of a few things that might come under consideration.

The 6-foot rule -

This certainly creates a lot of limitations if it is in place and we want to dance. That being said it would be possible to hold classes where people dance alone and they maintain space from one another, possibly even wearing masks.

Now if a couple is dancing together and they come from the same household, then they would not be under this same obligation, so it would be fairly easy to have couples classes. extending on this idea, it might also be possible to have classes in which there is no partner changing and people have a regular partner.

Masks

Certainly this does not solve everything, but it does seem like wearing a mask while doing a lot of partner changing might actually make a lot of sense and make things a little bit more safe. For one if someone coughs they're likely would not be as much distribution in the air when there are a lot of people in the room. And also there is less likely to be as much touching other face.

Hygiene protocols

Both teachers and students were asked to wash their hands between classes. Also the studio would make sure that surfaces and door handles are cleaned. Additionally things like food and water in which common utensils are needed would not be utilized. They would be hand sanitizer available in a couple of places.

So I know this sounds pretty heavy duty, but we might need to consider some of the above and maybe you have some other ideas too, and this way we might be able to get back to the studio sooner once it is deemed safe.

 

[raindance]

One other thing to consider - strongly encouraging anyone who is remotely sick to stay away from the studio, whether student, teacher, or staff. Possible temperature checks with forehead thermometer, if that proves useful for other situations where people are going to congregate (e.g. if local schools are checking temps on staff and students at the beginning of each day, and that's recommended by health authorities, then studios may want to do so as well).

I hope as this pandemic eventually settles down, that people staying home when sick (with appropriate sick leave provided) becomes a completely normal thing for everyone.

 

[RiseNFall]

I might have a mild case of Covid-19 at the moment. Cough, no fever or any other symptoms. Felt crummy for 3 or 4 days, but I'm better now. My doctor said that they would be "soon" be able to test in office to see if patients had antibodies to Covid-19. Wa-hoo!!! I didn't press him on what he meant by "soon", but that would be great to know. If I did have the antibodies, I would know it was safe for me to go back to dance lessons, though, as you point out, not legal to do so.

 

[rels77]

If there’s anything like social distancing in place, even as a recommendation, I’m sorry, but classes at 6feet away? That doesn’t count in and out of the studio, the lobby area, etc. it’s just not reasonable. And if you have to wear masks, you have no business switching partners and social dancing.

If any studio was doing stuff like this, that tells me it’s still not safe and I wouldn’t set foot anywhere near it.

 

[rels77]

If there’s anything like social distancing in place, even as a recommendation, I’m sorry, but classes at 6feet away? That doesn’t count in and out of the studio, the lobby area, etc. it’s just not reasonable. And if you have to wear masks, you have no business switching partners and social dancing.

If any studio was doing stuff like this, that tells me it’s still not safe and the owners probably don’t take it seriously enough and I wouldn’t set foot anywhere near it.

I might have a mild case of Covid-19 at the moment. Cough, no fever or any other symptoms. Felt crummy for 3 or 4 days, but I'm better now. My doctor said that they would be "soon" be able to test in office to see if patients had antibodies to Covid-19. Wa-hoo!!! I didn't press him on what he meant by "soon", but that would be great to know. If I did have the antibodies, I would know it was safe for me to go back to dance lessons, though, as you point out, not legal to do so.

Safe for YOU. But you can still

 

[Warren J. Dew]

Applying the six foot rule in group classes, masks for private lessons and maybe groups - or at least for instructors in group classes - and washing hands before lessons all sound like good ideas. People with fevers should be requested - required in the case of instructors - to stay away from the studio; coughs might be harder because a lot of people cough occasionally even when they aren't sick, though you could enforce it for more than a mild cough. And yes, wiping down door handles and such - and maybe blocking doors open when practical. Provide paper towels in the bathrooms so people don't have to touch the faucet handle directly after washing hands.

I think partner switching in group classes would need to be made optional; older students in particular might be wise to opt out.

Edit: with respect to hallways and such, we need to keep in mind that distancing is useful even when it isn't done 100% of the time. If you stay away from people 75% of the time, you still get 75% of the benefit.

 

[worddancer]

Having antibodies and being previously infected means you will eventually stop shedding the virus. In two weeks or a month or 2. You stop being infectious.

One of the ideas to open up is to create a national registry of people with antibodies to the virus. Also this antibodies test is currently being fast-tracked in the UK.

I’m doing virtual privates right now, when I go back to the studio, I will want to actually dance with someone. Otherwise what is the the point?

 

[lucia_l]

I didn't press him on what he meant by "soon", but that would be great to know. If I did have the antibodies, I would know it was safe for me to go back to dance lessons, though, as you point out, not legal to do so.

Another test is now on emergency approval.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Here's one that tests for virus. There's another that tests for antibodies. I suspect "soon" is when these are finally distributed. (Or when insurers pay... or something.)

Everything is in flux.

 

[Warren J. Dew]

Interesting - although without PCR, that test will only detect severe infections. Still, a good test to use on people with substantial symptoms.

 

[lucia_l]

Warren,
Unfortunately, these sorts of articles never seem to report likely false positive rates, false negative rates or anything else. But we need tests to detect who carries virus and we need tests to detect who has antibodies and has cleared virus. Both are important to public policy decisions as without them we can't balance what we fear about contagion with our concerns about the economy.

 

[tsb]

apparently some choral group up in the state of washington decided to go ahead with a rehearsal. no members presented with symptoms at the time, and they sat every other chair but about half (28/60) tested positive, another 17 present had symptoms but did not get tested for a total of 45/60 (75%), and it proved fatal for 2 members.

two major issues would be that it's possible to be a carrier without presenting symptoms, and while i'd expect that the act of singing could result in greater concentrations being expelled in one's breath, but it also may well be that it can survive in aerosol form for longer than previously speculated.

for those of you who rely on dance as a source of income, i understand the thinking, but this is uncharted territory, much like wandering down a dark tunnel. it's impossible to know if the speck of light we think we see is an exit, or an oncoming freight train.

i've been feeding the homeless on a weekly basis in the greater pasadena area for about ten years now. almost every other group doing so has ceased their activities, and now i'm reconsidering my decision to keep doing so.

 

[worddancer]

There is something called “disaster porn”, where basically you read all the bad news possible.

Even at the worst case scenario, there will eventually be a vaccine.

There is a Washington post article that talks about how this virus is stable genome wise.

There are several antibodies testing being fast tracked.

There are talk about people who have these antibodies being given passports or being put in a national registry so they can go out and work.

There is talk about a vertical quarantine, once science and hospital beds catch up. A vertical quarantine means the elderly and high risk people are the ones that stay home. This will probably happen after the disease peaks and the curve goes down, which is April in hot spots and May in low spots.


Also according to Iceland who is doing random testing, 30% of positive cases never even have symptoms. I’m going to guess that plenty of ballroom dancers are too.

if you want to avoid disaster porn I recommend the subreddit r/covid-19
Full of scientific articles and intelligent commentary.

 

[Dupont]

More measures, in the order of importance


Air circulation. Independent of weather, circulate the air in the directions: from outside, to inside, to outside. Perhaps open two windows, or a door and a window. Announce breaks if needed, for refreshing air. Perhaps use heaters, and, if they are of blowing type, let them blow onto a wall rather than onto dancers.

Air conditioning. Don't use unless it is of special type.

Air cleaning. This has limited capability, but consider running an air purifier. Do the maintenance of the purifier carefully, preferably outside only.

Restrooms. Repair every single defect. Declare maximum occupancy. No conversations inside. Allow a line outside and perhaps put chairs nearby. If possible, allow air circulation by opening window. Check the ventilation system. Consider running UV lamps. Make sure that hot water is actually hot and running, if possible.

No or limited food. But allow patrons to bring items with them for individual consumption. Use utensils only after washing, or individually-packed ones. Later, wrapped items and uncut fruit can be introduced, but they shall be eaten after washing.

Covered or flowing drinks (water). Use covered cups (cover with lid, paper, another cup or something similar). Open the cans after washing. Hot coffee and hot tea are the preferred drinks. Remove limitations on bringing in drinks.

The halls and offices. Don't clean if a night or no-activity day is coming. Instead, clean in the morning, before activities. All cleaning must be done in a good mask, in gloves, windows open, and without rush. Run UV lights when the hall is not in use. Open a window in the night if possible.

Money. Encourage patrons to pay the exact amount by dropping payment into a box. Don't check the paid amount. Accept checks and show a sample of a written check. If the turnaround is big (ah, the good times!), put a big, vertical sheet of acrylic glass between patrons and receptionist, or put a big table or desk. The receptionist must wear disposable gloves for the busy period.

Dancer's uniform. Discourage bare arms, shoulders, knees. Allow gloves of any kind. Discourage open skin in shoes, since the skin on dancers' feet is often damaged, meanwhile the air near the floor is a danger zone.

Teacher and DJ. They shall not shout (ah, the good times!); instead, use microphones.

Injuries. After a fall or damaging contact with another dancer, wash the damaged skin immediately.

Schedule. If possible, introduce a closed day after a high-activity day. There shall be no high-occupancy activity if the air circulation is limited.

Dances. Reduce the percentage of physically-taxing and quickly-moving dances if the occupancy is high (ah, the good times!) . (Are merengue and Viennese waltz the most and least suitable dances?).

Self-check. Keep a few cans with saline in several inconspicuous places, including restrooms. There is chance that later they can be checked daily for enemy content, together with floor swipes.

 

[Mengu]

Money. Encourage patrons to pay the exact amount by dropping payment into a box. Don't check the paid amount. Accept checks and show a sample of a written check. If the turnaround is big (ah, the good times!), put a big, vertical sheet of acrylic glass between patrons and receptionist, or put a big table or desk. The receptionist must wear disposable gloves for the busy period.

Wouldn't zero contact be better, using an NFC device with Apple Pay, Android Pay, etc?

 

[Greybeard]

Restrooms. Repair every single defect. Declare maximum occupancy. No conversations inside. Allow a line outside and perhaps put chairs nearby. If possible, allow air circulation by opening window. Check the ventilation system. Consider running UV lamps. Make sure that hot water is actually hot and running, if possible.

Lots of recommendations about using UV light in this post. Nothing mentioned about how dangerous UV light is. We don't want to go from COVID-19 to skin cancer or blindness.