Rejected petition I would like you to ask the Senedd to relax Covid restrictions on amateur singing in groups.
I speak for a local choir in rural West Wales (there are at least 5 other choirs in the vicinity) who have been practicing on Zoom during the pandemic but we need to sing together to improve our performance. In this land of song, we need to recognise the importance of group singing for relieving loneliness & mental health issues after lockdown. Singing together is good for the soul - let's get back to it as soon as we can!
More details
Typical extracts from the BMJ, Nature, British Voice Association, Derby University and Oxford University (amongst others):
Singing has been shown to improve our sense of happiness and wellbeing. Research has found, for example, that people feel more positive after actively singing together than they do after passively listening to music or after chatting about positive life events. Improved mood probably in part comes directly from the release of positive neurochemicals such as β-endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. It is also likely to be influenced by changes in our sense of social closeness with others.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue, or if the Petitions Committee has considered one in the last year.
The Petitions Committee has recently considered petitions on this issue:
Allow choirs to rehearse indoors if they produce a full risk assessment to prevent C-19 infection https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244412
Allow choristers and youth choirs to sing in Wales and young musicians to play in groups https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244361
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards
Rejected petitions are published in the language in which they were submitted