COVID-19 pandemic

This page does not cover the full pandemic, it covers the topics most related to YUNGBLUD, and topics that can be linked back to this article, such as touring and travelling as well as covering the basics of the pandemic and how it affected the music industry and the world. If you would like to have a full coverage of the pandemic, globally, please Wikipedia's page.

## Introduction

The **COVID-19 pandemic**, also known as **Coronavirus**/**Corona**, is an ongoing global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization *(WHO)* declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern regarding COVID-19 on 30 January 2020, and then declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As of June 2021, more than 178 million cases have been confirmed globally, with more than 3.86 million confirmed deaths associated to COVID-19, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

### Disease and transmission

The severity of COVID-19 symptoms is highly variable, ranging from Asymptomatic to possibly fatal. Severe illness is more likely in elderly COVID-19 patients, as well as those who have underlying medical conditions. COVID-19 transmits when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets and small airborne particles. The risk of breathing these in is highest when people are in close proximity, but they can be inhaled over longer distances, particularly indoors. Transmission can also occur if splashed or sprayed with contaminated fluids, in the eyes, nose or mouth, and, rarely, via contaminated surfaces. People remain contagious for up to 20 days, and can spread the virus even if they do not develop any symptoms *(symptomatic)*.

### Responses

Recommended preventive measures include social distancing, wearing face masks in public, ventilation and air-filtering, hand washing, covering one's mouth when sneezing or coughing, disinfecting surfaces, and monitoring plus self-isolation for people exposed or symptomatic. Several vaccine's have been developed and widely distributed in most developed countries since December 2020. Current treatments focus on addressing symptoms, but work is underway to develop medications that inhibit the virus. Authorities worldwide have responded by implementing travel restrictions, lockdowns and quarantines, workplace hazard controls, and business closures. Numerous jurisdictions have also worked to increase testing capacity and trace contacts of the infected.

### Impact

The pandemic has resulted in significant global social and economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the Great Depressio] of the 1930s. It has led to widespread supply shortages exacerbated by panic buying, agricultural disruption, and food shortages. However, there have also been decreased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. Numerous educational institutions and public areas have been partially or fully closed, and many events have been cancelled or postponed. Misinformation has circulated through social media and mass media, and political tensions have been exacerbated. The pandemic has raised issues of racial and geographic discrimination, health equity, and the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights.

### Signs & symptoms

Symptoms of COVID-19 are variable, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms include headache, loss of smell and taste, nasal congestion and runny nose, cough, muscle pain, sore throat, fever, diarrhea, and breathing difficulties. People with the same infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and fatigue; a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. In people without prior ear, nose, and throat disorders, loss of taste combined with loss of smell is associated with COVID-19.

Of people who show symptoms, 81% develop only mild to moderate symptoms (up to mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms (dyspnea, hypoxia, or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging) and 5% of patients suffer critical symptoms (respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction). At least a third of the people who are infected with the virus do not develop noticeable symptoms at any point in time. These asymptomatic carriers tend not to get tested and can spread the disease. Other infected people will develop symptoms later, called "pre-symptomatic", or have very mild symptoms and can also spread the virus.

As is common with infections, there is a delay between the moment a person first becomes infected and the appearance of the first symptoms. The median delay for COVID-19 is four to five days. Most symptomatic people experience symptoms within two to seven days after exposure, and almost all will experience at least one symptom within 12 days.

Most people recover from the acute phase of the disease. However, some people continue to experience a range of effects for months after recovery—named long COVID—and damage to organs has been observed. Multi-year studies are underway to further investigate the long-term effects of the disease

### Transmission

The disease is mainly transmitted via the respiratory route when people inhale droplets and particles that infected people release as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Infected people are more likely to transmit COVID-19 the when they are physically close. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors.

Infectivity begins as early as three days before symptoms appear, and people are most infectious just prior to and during the onset of symptoms. It declines after the first week, but infected people remain contagious for up to 20 days. People can spread the disease even if they are asymptomatic.

Infectious particles range in size from aerosols that remain suspended in the air for long periods of time to larger droplets that remain airborne or fall to the ground. Various groups utilize terms such as "airborne" and "droplet" both in technical and general ways, leading to confusion around terminology. Additionally, COVID-19 research has redefined the traditional understanding of how respiratory viruses transmit. The largest droplets of respiratory fluid do not travel far, and can be inhaled or land on mucous membranes on the eyes, nose, or mouth to infect. Aerosols are highest in concentration when people are in close proximity, which leads to easier viral transmission when people are physically close, but airborne transmission can occur at longer distances, mainly in locations that are poorly ventilated; in those conditions small particles can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours.

The number of people generally infected by one infected person varies; with only 10 to 20% of people responsible for the diseases spread. In September 2020 it was estimated that on average one infected person will infect two or three other people. It often spreads in clusters, where infections can be traced back to an index case or geographical location. In some cases, super-spreading events occur, where many people are infected by one person

### Diagnosis

The standard methods of testing for presence of SARS-CoV-2 are nucleic acid tests, which detects the presence of viral RNA fragments. As these tests detect RNA but not infectious virus, its "ability to determine duration of infectivity of patients is limited." The test is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used. Results are generally available within hours. The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease.

Chest CT scans may be helpful to diagnose COVID-19 in individuals with a high clinical suspicion of infection but are not recommended for routine screening. Bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacities with a peripheral, asymmetric, and posterior distribution are common in early infection. Subpleural dominance, crazy paving (lobular septal thickening with variable alveolar filling), and consolidation may appear as the disease progresses. Characteristic imaging features on chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT) of people who are symptomatic include asymmetric peripheral ground-glass opacities without pleural effusions.

### Prevention

Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include getting vaccinated, staying at home, wearing a mask in public, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, ventilating indoor spaces, managing potential exposure durations, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least twenty seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

Those diagnosed with COVID-19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by the CDC to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items.

### Vaccines

In Phase III trials, several COVID‑19 vaccines have demonstrated efficacy as high as 95% in preventing symptomatic COVID‑19 infections. As of June 2021, 18 vaccines are authorized by at least one national regulatory authority for public use: two RNA vaccines (Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna), nine conventional inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, CoronaVac, Covaxin, CoviVac, COVIran Barakat, Minhai-Kangtai, QazVac, and WIBP-CorV), five viral vector vaccines (Sputnik Light, Sputnik V, Oxford–AstraZeneca, Convidecia, and Johnson & Johnson), and two protein subunit vaccines (EpiVacCorona and RBD-Dimer).[failed verification] In total, as of March 2021, 308 vaccine candidates are in various stages of development, with 73 in clinical research, including 24 in Phase I trials, 33 in Phase I–II trials, and 16 in Phase III development.

Many countries have implemented phased distribution plans that prioritize those at highest risk of complications, such as the elderly, and those at high risk of exposure and transmission, such as healthcare workers. Single dose interim use is under consideration to extend vaccination to as many people as possible until vaccine availability improves.

On 21 December 2020, the European Union approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Vaccinations began to be administered on 27 December 2020. The Moderna vaccine was authorised on 6 January 2021 and the AstraZeneca vaccine was authorised on 29 January 2021.

On 4 February 2020, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar published a notice of declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act for medical countermeasures against COVID-19, covering "any vaccine, used to treat, diagnose, cure, prevent, or mitigate COVID-19, or the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 or a virus mutating therefrom", and stating that the declaration precludes "liability claims alleging negligence by a manufacturer in creating a vaccine, or negligence by a health care provider in prescribing the wrong dose, absent willful misconduct". The declaration is effective in the United States through 1 October 2024. On 8 December it was reported that the AstraZeneca vaccine is about 70% effective, according to a study.

By mid-June 2021, 85 percent of vaccinations have been administered in high-and upper-middle-income countries. Only 0.3 percent of doses have been administered in low-income countries.

For the UK, NHS states:

### Treatment

There is no specific, effective treatment or cure for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Thus, the cornerstone of management of COVID-19 is supportive care, which includes treatment to relieve symptoms, fluid therapy, oxygen support and prone positioning as needed, and medications or devices to support other affected vital organs.

Most cases of COVID-19 are mild. In these, supportive care includes medication such as paracetamol or NSAIDs to relieve symptoms (fever, body aches, cough), proper intake of fluids, rest, and nasal breathing. Good personal hygiene and a healthy diet are also recommended. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that those who suspect they are carrying the virus isolate themselves at home and wear a face mask.

People with more severe cases may need treatment in hospital. In those with low oxygen levels, use of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone is strongly recommended, as it can reduce the risk of death. Noninvasive ventilation and, ultimately, admission to an intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation may be required to support breathing. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address the issue of respiratory failure, but its benefits are still under consideration.

Several experimental treatments are being actively studied in clinical trials. Others were thought to be promising early in the pandemic, such as hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir, but later research found them to be ineffective or even harmful. Despite ongoing research, there is still not enough high-quality evidence to recommend so-called early treatment. Nevertheless, in the United States, two monoclonal antibody-based therapies are available for early use in cases thought to be at high risk of progression to severe disease. The antiviral remdesivir is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and several other countries, with varying restrictions; however, it is not recommended for people needing mechanical ventilation, and is discouraged altogether by the World Health Organization (WHO), due to limited evidence of its efficacy.

## Music industry & YUNGBLUD

\* This section specifically relates to YUNGBLUD and the music industry

The COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt the music industry after February 2020. Musicians were left unable to tour, play at festivals or play any venue live in front of a crowd. Tours and festivals were postponed to the next year or cancelled and professionals became worried about losing their jobs. Venues began facing closure and had to fight to say afloat, with artists backing small venues that they had played at. After the pandemic completely shut down the live music entertainment business and effectively made all professional live performance musicians unemployed, smaller artists came together to start a "COVID Musicians Relief Fund" on Go Fund Me.

YUNGBLUD became one of the first to make a live show with a professional set up called *The YUNGBLUD Show*, it served as a temporary replacement for performing live. Harrison would live stream each show onto YouTube a live chat would be projected onto a screen during the entire show so he was able to see feedback. Harrison announced that he had partnered with Moment House, to live stream pre-recorded videos of himself and his band performing a set list of both old songs and songs released from the sophomore album, tickets were under £10 to respect the financial times during COVID-19 that the working class *(prominent audience in fan base)* were going through. The tour was a way to temporarily replace in-person touring and to generate income for both himself and his employees. When asked if he would do more of them, he declined the decisions and stated that it was only temporary and he would rather be performing in front of fans.*[source needed!]*

In November 2020, Harrison was made aware that he would have to either delay the album release or allow fans to get the physical version of the album much later than digital streaming versions. This change was caused due to COVID-19 affecting the conditions in which physical copies *(CD, Vinyls)* of the album were made in factories. He chose to delay the album so everyone would be able to get their copies at the same time. Due to the delay, a fan questioned whether the online tour would be pushed back too, however, he dismissed this and said that fans would instead be able to hear the tour versions before the studio versions.

The music industry had called for a Government backed insurance scheme that allows venues and theatres to fully reopen with confidence and provide paid work for musicians. Artists, labels and companies had been asking for the best part of 2020 and had even taken a fleshed-out proposal to the Government but still no scheme has materialised.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia — "COVID-19 pandemic". Published 5 January 2020.
2. ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — "Clinical Questions about COVID-19: Questions and Answers (Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19))". Published 11 February 2020.
3. ↑ NHS Inform Scotland — "Coronavirus (COVID-19): General advice". Published Retrieved 21 June 2021.
4. ↑ IMF Blog — "The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression". Published Retrieved 21 June 2021.
5. ↑ Evening Standard — "Music stars plea for help for London’s small venues facing collapse during Covid-19 pandemic". Published 21 November 2020.
6. ↑ Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) on Twitter — "We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily" Posted 18 March 2020.
7. ↑ Download Festival — "DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL WILL NO LONGER BE TAKING PLACE THIS YEAR". Published Retrieved 21 June 2021.
8. ↑ Consequence — "Lollapalooza Reschedules South American Festivals Due to Coronavirus - Updated". Published 14 March 2020.
9. ↑ Go Fund Me — "COVID Musicians Relief Fund". Published Retrieved 21 June 2021.
10. ↑ YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) on Instagram — "important announcement!!! please watch. Weird! december 4th. this is our story, and it will be fooking perfect. fuck this virus, i love you all so much 🖤🧷🖤" Posted 21 October 2020.
11. ↑ YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) on Twitter — "important announcement!!! please watch. Weird! december 4th. this is our story, and it will be fooking perfect. fuck this virus , i promise im doin everything i can. i love you all so much" Posted 21 October 2020.
12. ↑ YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) on Twitter — "NO , you will hear songs before the album is out" Posted 21 October 2020.
13. ↑ Musicians' Union — "Is It Live or Dead: The State of The Live Music Industry in The UK". Published 17 June 2021.