Me neither Wearing N95 mask when out from home,had a few in the garage anyway so might as well use em!
I read in French newspapers that the government there considers banning any event likely to attract a crowd of more than 5000 people. That could mean ALL sporting events, political rallies, festivals, etc ... Strangely, I don't see much restriction on flying, which is the best way to spread the virus, I would have thought.
https://www.planetf1.com/news/australian-gp-coronavirus/. ‘The Australian Grand Prix is going ahead’ Date published: March 2 2020
But will they allow people coming from Italy ..or have been in Italy in to Oz ? The government so far have no restrictions, but the way it's increasing in Italy this could well change.
Firstly that is now no longer a consideration: it is in activated BUT you missed the key word William: banning any INDOOR event likely to attract a crowd of more than 5000 people. The Paris agriculture show (which took place in the same huge exhibition hall where Retromobile took place a month ago) had its last day cancelled yesterday and a Paris half marathon -outdoors obviously- yesterday also got cancelled. However the situation will evolve. Obviously as numbers rise things will not get any better for a while. Regarding Melbourne today would have been the day -it is 6.24pm there as I write this- for Australian authorities to announce a GP cancellation: the flying out of equipment and people is beginning now and there was no sign of them getting itchy fingers over the virtual cancellation button. Conceivably they could still cancel in the next 48 hours, after that doing so would be messy as the equipment would land in Oz with no one to receive it. Australian customs did massively mismanage a classic Maserati rally 18 months ago in which cars where shipped from Europe and the Uk: the cars were blocked in customs and they wanted to tear them apart for ages to see if any asbestos was in them...so the owners all cancelled, asked that the cars go right back and they drove either new Maseratis arranged by Australian dealers or rental cars. It was a public relations disaster...and this happened in Melbourne...so the nightmare would be that despite Binotto asking for reassurances all Italian team and Pirelli personnel would get major scrutiny and anyone remotely sick quarantined...let's hope not...
The issue with the Maserati rallly was nothing to do with Australian Customs mismanagment, it was entirely the rally organisers responsiblity, the asbestos import issue is ( and has been ) well known the and should have been factored in to the event planning. The is no "waiver" simply because its a classic Maserati. Re the F1; I know that Ferrari have sought assurances from the FIA and the owners of F1, however Australian Borderforce won't give an assurance that visitors coming to Australia won't be subject to quarantine next week, (or at some other point in the future), the whole travel situation is being assessed on a daily basis by the Austalian authorities. Wether or not the GP happens is not a consideration in their decision making.
It was bad timing at the end of the day as Customs were forced to crack down on items that might contain asbestos.
Don't get me wrong I love Australia, visiting, Kakadu and Arnhem land in particular is a major travel goal of mine, I host a lady from Melbourne every summer here but that is a very hard nosed uncompromising attitude from customs. They need to produce some advance information for people who will fly 24 hours from Europe so they know what to expect: just common courtesy. Here is the latest Melbourne related virus news. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-02/coronavirus-bali-melbourne-flight-passengers-quarantine-effort/12016802
The latest is that South Australian police are being given new powers to arrest and detain people at risk of spreading coronavirus. https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-update-south-australia-laws-to-contain-outbreak/9825212a-1c1e-4c2a-b007-3ded210d3f69 I expect this will be implemented throughout Australia
March 2 - AustralianGP Statement from Australian GP Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott says working closely with health authorities re Coronavirus. No indication of further travel bans, nor any indication teams will not arrive as usual. F1 has again confirmed overnight that the race is going ahead.
Guys, let's face reality. I watched more than one virologist saying that "up to 70% of the world population might get this virus". Best one can do is to wash your hands 5 times or more per day and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands. I went skiing yesterday in what is probably the closest resort to the virus hotbed in Italy and I will again almost all weekends until the end of the winter. I'm not worried about getting sick, I'm more worried about getting this virus and then passing it to others who might not have a good health like me.
One wonders how many GPs will be left on the calendar at this rate. Liberty's aim to increase the number of races is in trouble. 2020 promises to be a different season.
Evidently USA is only now just starting to get the required numbers and correct type of testing units. Instead of reported 116 the true figure is around 2 or 3 thousand...they are about 3 weeks behind real data.
True. Imagine the hundreds of thousands of people who travelled to or from China, South Korea, Singapore, etc. This virus has been circulating around the world for a month or so but just now people are getting tested.
Less people for sure but not as bad as I was expecting. In the previous weeks before the Coronavius, this same place was ridiculously crowed, to the point it was unplesant, with huge queues on the lifts. Yesterday it felt like it was the beggining or the end of the season, but restaurants were full and the rental places also. Definetly less revenue but very far from being an economic disaster.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPCC) will meet today to decide whether additional protection measures, such as bans on mass gatherings, will be introduced The AHPCC is made up of all state and territory chief health officers and is chaired by Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy. The committee could choose to enact restrictions such as bans on large sport and entertainment events, and requests for people to work from home. Sources have told the ABC Australians should anticipate changes, including more social distancing measures, to prevent or slow the spread of the virus. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-03/coronavirus-covid-19-has-begun-spreading-within-australia/12018688
Looking bad...if they cancel now the logistics for the teams will be a nightmare....if there are many GP cancellations this year all sorts of new problems will emerge, sponsors wanting money back etc
Yup It was pretty grim watching the news tonight, I figure things are going to get worse before they get better, looks like we are in uncharted territory.