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Australian state bans recorder recitals, school choirs
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With infections hitting several Sydney schools, authorities in New South Wales moved to prohibit choirs and wind ensembles from Wednesday. (Shutterstock/Ja'Crispy)
C
hildren will be banned from playing the recorder and singing in school choirs across Australia's most populous state in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus, authorities said Monday.
With infections hitting several Sydney schools, authorities in New South Wales moved to prohibit choirs and wind ensembles from Wednesday.
"All group singing and/or other chanting activities, as well as the use of wind instruments in group settings, are not permitted," the local education authority said.
That includes the recorder -- a gateway to instrument playing for many small children -- while dancing will also be off-limits.
"School formals, dances, graduation or other social events are not permitted," the New South Wales education department added.
Although public schools in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales have reopened after initial lockdowns, authorities said the new measures would help them operate in the "safest ways possible".
Australia is currently battling to contain a number of coronavirus outbreaks after months of near-zero local transmission.
Read also: New Zealand's COVID-19 outbreak grows, as Australian cases ease
The country's second-largest city, Melbourne, is in lockdown and still reporting hundreds of new cases daily, although the number is decreasing.
Many of Melbourne's infections have been linked to aged care homes -- where death rates are rising following a peak in cases over the last two weeks.
Australia has recorded more than 23,000 cases of COVID-19 and 421 fatalities so far in the pandemic.
