Organizers: Pilot Barcelona concert could pave way for more

Organizers of a pilot rock concert in Barcelona argue that it showed mid-sized cultural events could be held amid the pandemic without social distancing but with other precautions

BARCELONA, Spain -- Mid-sized cultural events could be held without social distancing — but with other precautions — after a pilot concert attended by 4,500 mask-wearing Spaniards who'd been screened for COVID-19 produced no significant outbreaks, event organizers argued Tuesday. The medical team from a local hospital that oversaw the health protocols for last month's Barcelona show said an analysis of health data revealed six positive cases in the two weeks following the event among people who had attended the concert. Organizers said none of the infected people required hospitalization and that four of them said that they believed the origin of their infection was from some place other than the concert. According to doctor Josep Maria Llibre, the six infections are fewer than the average contagion spread for Barcelona at the time. He said the six infections would extrapolate to an incidence of 131 cases per 100,000 people, when the city-wide tally over that same period was 260 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.