雙語|研究：輕聲歌唱和講話能降低新冠病毒傳播風險
英國的新研究發現，在控制新冠病毒傳播這件事上，音量很關鍵。相比大喊大叫和高聲唱歌，輕聲講話和唱歌產生的氣溶膠總量要低得多，從而能降低新冠病毒傳播風險。
Sing softly and don’t shout to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spread, new research suggests, offering a ray of hope for musicians who have been restricted from performing in public.
新研究指出，輕聲歌唱、不喊叫可以降低新冠病毒傳播風險，這給那些被限制在公共場合表演的音樂家帶來了一絲希望。
Music makers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with singing, as well as playing of woodwind and brass instruments deemed to be a potential high risk for spreading the disease – a concern fuelled by outbreaks in choirs.
音樂家受疫情打擊很嚴重，因爲演唱以及吹奏木管和銅管樂器被視爲傳播新冠肺炎的潛在高危因素，合唱團暴發的聚集性病例加劇了這一擔憂。
But the research offers hope to performers keen to get back on stage as soon as possible.
"It is not about the vocalisation – whether it’s singing or speaking – it is about the volume,” said Jonathan Reid, a professor of physical chemistry at the University of Bristol and a co-author of the research. “Just by singing a little bit more softly you really reduce the risk.”
該研究的合著者、布里斯托大學物理化學系教授喬納森·裡德說：“無論是唱歌還是說話，都與發聲方式無關，而是與音量有關。唱歌時稍微輕柔一些就能降低傳播風險。”
In a study that has yet to be peer-reviewed, the team report how they asked 25 professional singers to breathe, speak, cough and sing into funnels. They then measured the mass of tiny droplets suspended in the air, known as aerosols, that were produced. The experiments were set up in an orthopaedic operating theatre, a setting chosen for its lack of background aerosols.
在一項尚未經過同行評議的研究中，研究團隊請25名專業歌手對着漏斗狀的器具呼吸、講話、咳嗽和唱歌。然後他們測量了由此產生的氣溶膠（在空氣中懸浮的微小飛沫）的總量。實驗在一個骨科手術室進行，選擇這個環境是因爲這裡的氣溶膠較少。
While one route by which Covid-19 spreads is via big droplets, largely produced when someone coughs and which fall to the ground within a couple of metres, Reid said aerosols were another possible route, noting such tiny droplets can linger in the air.
新冠病毒傳播的一條路徑是通過飛沫，大多是在某人咳嗽時產生，在一兩米的距離內會落到地面。裡德表示，氣溶膠是另外一條可能的傳播路徑，他指出微小的飛沫會懸浮在空氣中。
The team found the results of their study varied across participants, however at the lowest volume singing and speaking generated a similar mass of aerosols as breathing.
研究團隊發現，參與者的結果各有不同，但是用最低音量唱歌和說話的人產生的氣溶膠和呼吸時產生的氣溶膠數量相近。
But when the team asked participants to recite Happy Birthday at different volumes, they found the loudest singing and speaking – 90-100dB – produced about 36 and 24 times the mass of aerosols respectively as generated by breathing.
但是當研究團隊請參與者用不同音量唱《生日快樂》這首歌時，他們發現用最大音量（90到100分貝）唱歌和說話所產生的氣溶膠分別是呼吸所產生的氣溶膠的36倍和24倍。
"The volume of the activity, whether it is speaking or singing softly or speaking or singing loudly, that is really the main factor in governing the aerosol mass that is generated,” said Reid, adding that while singing generates a slightly higher mass of aerosols than speaking, at least when loud, the difference is very small compared with the effect of volume.
裡德說：“無論是輕聲講話或唱歌還是大聲講話或唱歌，音量確實是決定產生的氣溶膠總量的主要因素。”他補充道，儘管唱歌時產生的氣溶膠總量比講話時產生的氣溶膠總量略高（至少在大聲唱歌和講話時是如此），二者區別和音量引起的區別相比微乎其微。
Co-author Declan Costello, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at Wexham Park hospital, noted other factors, including the size of the space and ventilation and duration of loud vocalisation, play an important role in potential infection risk.
研究報告的合著者、韋克斯漢姆公園醫院的耳鼻喉外科醫生德克蘭·科斯特洛指出，空間大小、通風情況和高音量發聲持續時間等其他因素對潛在感染風險也有重要影響。
In other words singing in a cathedral might pose a lower risk for spreading Covid-19 than shouting across a crowded pub. “Intuitively that would seem to be the case, assuming people are speaking or singing at the same sorts of volume,” said Costello.
換言之，在大教堂中唱歌相比在擁擠的酒館中大叫造成的新冠病毒傳播風險可能更低。科斯特洛說：“憑直覺來說是這樣，假定人們講話或唱歌的音量相等。”
However the research has limitations: it only measured aerosols produced by one individual at a time, while it did not look at how much virus was contained in the aerosol or the actual infection risk posed by the levels of aerosol produced.
但是這項研究也有侷限性：它只測量了一個人一次性產生的氣溶膠，沒有測量氣溶膠中所含的病毒數量，以及氣溶膠引發的實際感染風險。
The team say their findings have already contributed to new guidance for England released on 15 August by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.