BBE Virus Advice
Brass Bands England (BBE) has provided its own advice to its member bands regarding the Coronavirus pandemic:
“During the course of the last 48 hours, Brass Bands England (BBE) has received calls from across the banding world about events carrying on in the UK in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. In the absence of information from other sources, we have produced the advice below, which we recommend all our members follow. This is a fast-moving situation and the risks of transmission are changing rapidly. This advice supersedes any previously given by us and this page will be updated when appropriate.
In light of the increased risk of viral transmission as a result of fluids resulting from playing a brass instrument, we recommend the postponement of all large events in which people from multiple areas and of all ages come together. We realise that this is contrary to advice given by the UK Government, but we believe some of the elements of playing brass have some very specific risks of increased transmission, such as emptying water and the total time spent inside venues by audiences over the course of a contest. We realise this will be distressing and will have far-reaching consequences, but we are here to help our members in any way we can and feel it is important to recognise that these measures are ultimately about preserving lives.
We encourage all event organisers to ensure they can genuinely answer the question, ‘can you guarantee public health at your event?’ The consequences are potentially very serious, so we would encourage all participants to support the decisions of event organisers who either postpone or cancel events, including with financial support, as such decisions could have serious impact on their future viability. There is also a significant risk of banding appearing ‘out of touch’ with the general population if large events carry on whilst many others are being cancelled.”
BBE have clarified that the source of their advice: "We took advice from Public Health England and asked them specifically about the typical demographic at band contests, the specific activity and the length of time that those attending are typically together.
Their advice was that it is a high-risk activity and they agreed that advising postponement in line with other banding events around the world was the most sensible stance."
Further updates that BBE feel are appropriate as pandemic guidelines develop and change, will be posted on their website.
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