Over 5000 attends concert in Barcelona after "rapid testing"

A year ago, Spain was among the worst-hit countries due to coronavirus pandemic in Europe. Hospitals were overwhelmed with the patient flow, and hundreds of people were losing their lives daily.

It seems like now Spain have moved into the new normal. In the capital city of Barcelona, over 5,000 people attended a rock contest after taking a "rapid testing" for coronavirus at the entry.

The large gathering was planned as an experiment to see how things go under the "new normal".

Some 5,000 concert-goers have been allowed into the city's Palau Sant Jordi on Saturday night and able to mix freely while attending Spanish

rock group Love of Lesbian.

They have to wear protection, though, and prior to serving, they encountered an antigen test — which gives results much faster than the widely-used PCR test — which had to give a cool effect.

The rest of Spain is limited to groups of no more than four people in enclosed spades, but the Catalan capital concert is a test to see how effective the rules in place are.

The concert is backed by local authorities and by experts that too of Barcelona's The Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation, which also organised a case study around a smaller concert of 500 people in December.

They said that the preliminary case study results showed that pre-screening with antigen tests and the use of face masks succeeded in preventing infections inside the concert despite there being no social distancing rules.

In recent weeks, people with heart disease, cancer, or those who have been in contact with someone infected by COVID-19 were ordered not to sign up to the most recent concert.

Ticket holders were able to decide between three venues in Barcelona where they must pass a quick antigen test on Saturday morning. The ticket's cost included the test and a high-quality face mask that they will need to wear.

Organisers say it is the first industry event of this size held in Europe during the pandemic.

"This is another small step toward being able to conduct concerts and cultural events" during the pandemic, said Dr Boris Revollo, a virologist involved in the purpose of the health protocols.