This week I head back to work. I do so with a bit of unease, due to the virus, but we need the income and I am boosted so I suppose I will be okay should I manage to catch Covid.
We wind players are required to be tested twice a week since we can’t play masked: we have to arrive early but, as far as I know, are not compensated in any way for our extra time. (WILL all of us arrive early? I’ll bet not. And I’ll bet we have to start rehearsals a bit late because of that. But time will tell.)
What happens should one of us test positive is a mystery to me, as we’ve been give very little information about that. Strings, harp, percussion, and conductor will all be masked, but are not required to have N95s, KN95s, or KF94s. Certainly those are encouraged, but cloth masks and surgical masks are also permitted. Not requiring N95s or the like is a mystery to me. A cloth mask is, as we all now know, insufficient. (Thankfully no masks with valves, bandanas, or neck gaiters are allowed, so at least there’s that.)
I will be wearing my KF94 (which I researched to be sure it was good enough) whenever I am able, but I have a lot of notes and not all that many rests that allow me to put it back on, and it really probably doesn’t matter since I’ll be exposed to anything out there during the 3+ hours I’m with my masked and unmasked colleagues.
Will we be placed 6 feet apart? Doubtful. Does it matter that we won’t be? Doubtful again. We are in an enclosed space and we are sharing air no matter what.
I will be so very, very glad when Covid Times are less difficult to deal with. (Note that I don’t say “Covid Times are over”? I don’t believe we will ever be “over” this.)
So heigh ho, heigh ho for me and my colleagues. Stay tuned for updates.
