Another Covid case at La Scala

Another Covid case at La Scala

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norman lebrecht

October 19, 2020

Just in:

Following the positive outcome of the Covid-19 test of one of the members of Aida’s singing company, Teatro alla Scala has arranged a double swab of the entire cast. The first of the swabs gave negative results for all the artists, but today’s morning the results of the second buffer highlighted a second case. The Theatre immediately alerted the health authorities that have arranged a quarantine period for the entire company. Accordingly, the planned performance of Aida in concert form of tonight’s concert for the Cultural Promotion Service cannot take place and will be replaced by a concert of arias and choirs by Aida, Nabucco and La bohème directed by Master Fabio Luisi with the participation of the artists Anita Hartig, Aida Garifullina, Jonas Kaufmann and Simone Pitch.
Teatro alla Scala thanks all the artists for their kind availability.

 

Comments

  • fidelio65 says:

    When La Scala will stop? After the first death?
    I’m sure it’s safe for public to go to theater, but it’s not safe for all artists to keep working after these cases

    • Brian says:

      Yes, let’s all just lie down and await death.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        Hysteria won’t cut it; look at the statistics (difficult for some, I know): the vast majority of people who get Covid-19 won’t die from it. Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease create higher risks, as do other co-morbidities.

        Which nation on the planet carries the highest rates of those 4 conditions I mentioned? Let’s see now…..

        • Doc Martin says:

          I think you should refrain from discussing anything remotely medical. Leave it to those who know.

          There have been many cases of under 30s having cov-19 without any underlying conditions.

          The fact is we have no evidence for long term immunity to Sars-cov-2, the recent case of a repeat infection clearly indicates a vaccine may not be effective. We already know antibody titre falls after several weeks post infection. See Tillett et al Lancet Infectious Disease 2020.

          https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1473-3099%2820%2930764-7

  • Isabella Mazzotti says:

    What do the artists do for money while in isolation and bills continue to come in?

  • Doc Martin says:

    A positive cov-19 can arise in three ways.

    1. Patient sample gets contaminated during collection, storage or before testing via RT-PCR test.

    2. Patient who has had cov-19 previously and recovered, however the RT-PCR test can in some instances give a positive result from a residual RNA fragment from a previous infection.

    3. Patient has a current Sars-cov-2 viral infection.

    Hence a single cov-19 test result has little diagnostic value unless it is repeated say 48-72 hours later to confirm.
    The incubation period for Sars-cov-2 is up to 14 days, so further testing is necessary to establish an endpoint diagnosis.

  • Dennis says:

    A positive PCR test is not a “case” (90% of positive PCR tests are non-infectious, asymptomatic, or false positives). Flatten the fearmongering!

    • Petros Linardos says:

      Can you please cite your source of information regarding 90% of positive PCR tests? Fact checking should prevail can help us all calculate our risks.

    • MuddyBoots says:

      Asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic are known to be infectious, in fact may be highly infectious so your point is a red herring. There is currently no practical way of identifying infectious vs non-infectious Covid (meaning that is usable for the general population. Use of these replication tests, even for Presidents, is highly speculative. Not to say expensive and unavailable to the general public!) So how about you flatter your false information?

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      Oh, yes, PLEEEEEEEZE!!!!!!!!!

    • Doc Martin says:

      You are completely wrong.

    • Just saying says:

      Could you please cite or link to a reference from a reputable scientific publication that supports your assertion (re 90%)? Thank you.

    • Doc Martin says:

      From where and how do you reach this ridiculous assumption? Where is the evidence in BMJ and the Lancet?

      One only has a cov-19 test with symptoms! The fact is a positive test from someone with symptoms suggests an infection by Sars-cov-2. However, as the incubation period is up to 14 days, further tests are necessary.

      It is possible in some cases for a positive result to occur from a patient who has recovered from cov-19, as the test cannot distinguish RNA fragments from a live (new infection) and a previous one in which the patient has subsequently recovered.

    • St Patrick's Aunt says:

      Dennis you have been badly misinformed.

  • Doc Martin says:

    Nick Wilson’s editorial in BMJ on Aerosol transmission of Sars-cov-2 says it all succinctly. Some recent research in Florida has demonstrated it can be transmitted up to 5m in hospital wards.

    An opera house would therfore not be a great place to be at the moment.

    I see the latest ECDC cov-19 data for Belgium is off scale!

    https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/370/bmj.m3206.full.pdf

  • Waltraud Becker says:

    The usual nonsense. Who is Simone Pitch? The Baritone on stage was Mattia Olivieri !!!

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