(Photo Credit: Bayerische Staatsoper official website)

The Bayerische Staatsoper has announced that it will expand COVID-19 testing strategies for the artists and all employees of the house.

Two rapid antigen tests per week will be at the disposal of all employees on a voluntary basis. These tests come as a supplement to the already existing scheme of regular RT-PCR COVID-19 testing at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

The Bayerische Staatsoper was faced with a mild COVID-19 outbreak during rehearsals of Aribert Reimann’s opera “Lear” which led to the suspension of rehearsals on April 17, 2021. The opera house communicated the situation in a transparent manner on its official website. After extensive subsequent negative PCR testing of all the persons that were involved with the rehearsals, the opera house continued with the regular operations on April 24, 2021.

Germany is undergoing a fierce third wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly infectious and aggressive new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The seven-day incidence rate in Munich currently stands at 146.8.