07/21/2020
Wind instruments are NOT an increased vector for transmission of COVID.
Air does not flow through wind instruments while they are being played. Instead a standing wave of air vibrates back and forth, and doesn't flow any faster away from the player than if they simply sit and breathe. You can demonstrate this yourself, take a piece of tissue and hold it to a trumpet bell and play. The tissue will not not move (blow) away from the bell.
There is no increased air velocity from any wind instrument, with the exception of the flute (flutes are a unique problem for another day). The cross section area of most wind instruments increases towards the bell, so basic physics assures us that the velocity of air decreases as a very small amount of air leaves the bore.
The body of a wind instrument is a condensing surface, so any virus particles that might be present in droplets should condense out of the air column. Condensation is why we have spit rags and swabs. We do have to educate the kids not to share spit rags, and to treat swabs and spit rags as potentially hazardous. I'm sure some best practice advice on this will be coming soon, but a simple ziplock plastic bag and hand sanitizing seems obvious.
A coalition of industry associations is currently funding scientific studies to show band instruments can be safely played, so long as the players and audience have appropriate social distancing. Lobbyists are working in Washington to help the CDC come up with best practices guidance how to hold band and other performing arts classes.
Although the "experts" are not all in agreement and multiple studies of varying credibility are underway, in my view band class can be as safe as math and history, but only with smaller ensembles and careful cleaning. Here is a link to a page with a lot of resources, and I suggest you read it and bookmark it for future reference. The short takeaway from the preliminary results of this study is that small particles in the air from an wind instrument (except flute) are no higher three feet away than if the player simply sits and breathes normally.
Disclaimer: All information provided through the study is to be used strictly for general consideration. This information will be updated when it becomes available, please share the link to this webpage instead of the PDF document.
