Choirs are returning to practice. There are special masks for singing. The website choralcanada.org has information on them. There is a mask on the Broadway relief project website and it is available there. The Singer’s Mask was developed by singers FOR singers by Broadway professionals to help contain droplets while allowing space around the mouth to sing comfortably.
There's information on the mask HERE. You can buy music and masks from the same sites now - JWpepper.com has lots of masks. There are also masks for various wind instrument players.
So this seems extremely encouraging - as though choir singing can begin again this Fall. But that doesn't seem to be the case - there's a very cautious set of guidelines in Ontario. The Region of Halton published this update of Ontario COVID guidelines/requirements on September 17th:
Adapt or suspend singing, choirs, and the playing of wind or brass instruments.
Consider audio or video recordings instead of live singing or wind or brass instrumental music.
Group singing is strongly discouraged. The number of persons singing should be limited to the fewest possible.
Anyone singing or playing wind or brass instruments should be separated from others by a barrier and should maintain two metres (six feet) distance from others.
The conclusion seems to be that safe masks for singers will be for professionals, and us amateurs have a while to wait.
The important key indicator of when singing would be safer is having fully vaccinated singers. Canada has over 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated, but that isn't the case in the US at all. So websites that are dominantly US are negative on singing.
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