You’ve all seen the missive from the Board of Directors regarding COVID-19. As winter winds down we don’t have a lot of events on our own calendar for the next month or so, but some of you might be going out of kingdom for fun and there are always meetings, practices, and demos around the Kingdom. All Kingdom Seneschals are monitoring the virus and what it could mean for upcoming events.
The U.S. and Canada are still in the early stages of the spread of this disease and we don’t yet know the full picture. We don’t have that many cases so far – at the time of this writing, 77 nationwide and 34 in Ontario.
The best thing that everyone can do for themselves right now is to not panic, but do take sensible precautions:
* Wash your hands, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds, frequently throughout the day. Don’t touch your face with unwashed hands. There are any number of memes floating around to get you through 20 seconds. Hand washing is by far your best protection.
* Wash your hands before eating, after toileting, before and after intimacy, before and after touching anyone.
* Consider alternate forms of greetings rather than hugging or shaking hands.
* Keep surfaces clean – frequently wipe down high-touch areas (toys, toilets, phones, electronics, door handles, bedside tables, television remotes, etc.) Public Health Canada recommends regular household cleaners as good, or a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.
* Stay home if you’re sick! If anyone close to you in daily life is sick now or has been sick in the past week or so, consider very carefully the likelihood that you may be a carrier and on the verge of coming down with something yourself.
* Event stewards and officers running business meetings, practices, etc should have extra cleaning supplies available, as appropriate. If an event steward is unsure whether or not to have an event, please feel free to contact me. A good indicator of time to reconsider is whether or not local schools have closed. Listen to your local health officials.
* And, hey – we’re all concerned about Coronavirus right now because it’s in the news. All of this applies to any bug going around like a cold or the flu.
For more guidance, check out the available info sites:
Ontario – https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-novel-coronavirus
Federal – https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html
If you find yourself being a caregiver for an isolated patient: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/factsheet-covid-19-guide-isolation-caregivers.pdf
SCA guidance on event cancellations: https://www.sca.org/news/corporate-guidance-on-event-cancellation/
Take care of yourself, and your friends. Be ready, but don’t panic. If anything changes there will be further announcements.
Lars