This weekend I went to an agility show in Oamaru. Naturally, coronavirus was a hot topic of conversation, and there were a few other subtle changes. Handshakes at prizegiving were replaced with elbow bumps. Some people were asking others to give them a bit more personal space. We all seemed to stand a bit further apart when we were chatting – especially when we were talking about the virus!
Today the Ministry of Health has issued advice about mass gatherings and events. The current advice is to cancel events with 500 or more people attending. This is more than we would see at any agility show except for a North Island NZDAC. Dogs NZ (via email) and the Agility Committee (via Facebook) have also issued statements stating that it is up to individual clubs to decide whether they wish to proceed with their shows.
We’ve got a long way to go
At the moment there is no evidence of community transmission of coronavirus in New Zealand. Nothing has changed in the last 2 weeks. The 5 additional cases in that time are all in individuals who have recently travelled to virus hot spots, or who live with others who do. The new self-isolation requirement means (in theory) we are all better protected.
However, I see it as inevitable that we will have community transmission here, and a significant number of deaths. This is likely to be the largest pandemic in 100 years. It’s not going to just stop in a few months, and we can’t keep the border closed forever. This isn’t as simple as “if we stop agility for a few months, thousands of lives will be saved”.
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