hardtack

Um, canceling the first round will definitely help, for precisely the reason you say it won’t help!! All it takes is one or two people in the crowd (and there would likely be more than that) to be infectious, and they could unknowingly spread the virus to numerous people around them in queues waiting to enter the ground, in the crowd in the stands, in queues for food and drinks, by leaving virus (thanks LdC) on counters where others could pick it up, etc etc.

I think Smokey summed it up quite well. But I would be interested in the bolded part... could you please provide me with a link to something that provides a little more info on this mandatory quarantine, as I have google searched and found nothing at all. Maybe I'm just not good at googling? EDIT: I did find this which is hardly an example of staying ahead of things (every country was doing that and it doesn't explain his other later statements that virtually dismissed the virus as nothing too serious)... "In January the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first mandatory quarantine in more than half a century, keeping healthy Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China, originally the epicenter of the virus, isolated on an Air Force base for 14 days."

When traveling on public transport, wear a mask. As the virus is contagious before the symptoms appear, it is prudent to wear a mask as they do stop the spreading more so than stop you from catching it. I’m not saying they’re 3rd world. I’m saying that because Taiwan instigated common sense early in the piece in dealing with this, they have a low infection rate compared to these other countries. Masks have always been a thing in Asian countries to stop flu/cold symptoms spreading, but not so much in the West. Apparently quite a few countries are now adopting Taiwan’s measures. I have no idea why Italy is so bad, but if you compare stats, they are going at a much worse rate than China ever did... it’s scary.

Agree DL... so let’s hope the AFL aren’t so blasé and take the lead for a change.

Agree. People saying “oh it’s only x number in a population of n size!”, don’t seem to realise that as there are more infections, the numbers grow exponentially. The only way to keep numbers down, is to take all precautions possible. I mentioned before that I was in Taiwan, a country with an almost identical population to ours, but the world’s 4th most densely populated by area; yet they have just 48 cases to our 127. Why might that be? Could it be the fact that most people, but in particular those customer facing people in stores, cafes, restaurants etc, all wear (much to SWYL’s chagrin) masks? Could it be that on entering an establishment you are given a spray of hand sanitiser and have your temperature (in many, not all, places) taken? And there is no panic buying of sanitiser, toilet paper, tissues etc etc... in fact they openly laugh about what is happening here and in other “civilised” western countries with regards to that. It’s all about risk reduction and containment; and by removing large gatherings from the equation, a large part of the risk is removed. This is one thing that the AFL could get right if they put peoples’ welfare ahead of the game and profits.

Considering the US went from a handful of cases and Trump bragging about how he has it under control, to 1,000+ cases in under a week, I’d say they’re probably making the right call.

Too true.

I’d be hoping that all clubs have regular testing. And I’m sure players will be under strict instructions regarding their comings and goings away from the club. I also imagine teams will be bussed into the grounds to avoid close contact with the public and the players’ race will probably have an exclusion zone so supporters can’t get close... particularly those ferals that have a penchant for spitting on players.

No more so than Melbourne.

Hence my purchasing of a membership for my son as well. I’m on no income other than a small indexed pension, super went in supporting a mortgage after being made redundant at 62, but that’s my choice (cue world’s littlest violin). The point is that most are likely in a position to afford a membership (I never made a sweeping generalisation to the effect that all are in that position). If I made my decision based purely on performance, my son might never have gotten a membership and I would have diced mine years ago. I’m a believer in taking the good with the bad.

Airports are so empty of late that they’re probably one of the safer places to be. And once on a flight, apparently the air conditioning uses 50% air from outside and the rest is filtered through the same filters used in operating theatres. So as long as you’re not seated close to someone coughing their lungs out and sending coronavirus particles your way, then no problem!

MFC Supporters: Practicing the art of turning silk purses into sow’s ears, since 1965.

And, as I keep saying, the cost of a membership equates to something like the cost of one cup of coffee per week; surely there are very few who could not afford that.

Yes, I might by an extra bottle of provista sugo because stocks appear to be running low, but toilet paper rolls by the hundreds??

I’m still not sure what has caused the toilet paper, tissues etc stampede. I heard from one checkout person that it’s people buying and then sending overseas to the worst hit areas that are in lockdown (Wuhan etc), but I somehow doubt that, as the parcels would not make it out of the country, and if they did, they certainly wouldn’t make it beyond customs at the other end of their journey. If, as I suspect, it is in preparation for going “off the grid” in a lock down situation, then there are going to be a hell of a lot of stinking households, as no one seems to be stocking up on other basic hygiene products such as soap, shampoo etc. Also, people are in a tizz over hand sanitiser, yet no one seems to be interested in anti-bacterial hand soaps that also claim to kill 99.9% of germs... go figure. I just returned from Taiwan where everyone is very coronavirus aware and taking all precautionary measures. They all wear masks (particularly in enclosed spaces and on public transport), most restaurants and shops, cinemas etc have hand sanitiser for you as you enter and many check your temperature; and there is no shortage of any products in supermarkets! Some may dismiss their behavior as overreaction, but if you look at the fact that they have a similar population to ours, but in a far more condensed area (not to mention the fact that the epicenter of the virus is just a hop skip and a jump away), yet they currently have 45 cases to our 93, I think I’d be inclined to think they are doing something right. And lastly, I hope that your friend can find the support and supplies that they obviously need; sending positive thoughts!

Someone else did raise that point, to which I replied: “By “they”, if you mean Max and Jack, then yes, you may be right... but the reveal to the rest is still going to be painful.”

I noticed it at training a few years ago... players were calling “Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie”, and I assumed it was for Bernie Vince, but he was nowhere near that action...there was just Viney.

Harmes is your meat and potatoes kind of player, and I think is far more suited to a midfield role. Lockhart’s creativity, pace and kicking, is something the backline could do with... but at who’s expense?

By “they”, if you mean Max and Jack, then yes, you may be right... but the reveal to the rest is still going to be painful.

Well, it’s got to be a bitter pill to swallow, and it would definitely be a blow to the ego to find out in front of everyone that he wasn’t their number one. It also shows just how much he wants it and hopefully that will drive him on to bigger and better things. I did like the way that Goodwin handled what must have been a very awkward situation...even Max looked a little uncomfortable.

http://www.theshovel.com.au/2020/03/03/residents-in-vaucluse-and-toorak-have-started-panic-buying-bidets/

Probably closer to Sandanistas, the way we’ve been treated by the AFL the last however many decades.

I would have said it’s a healthy discussion, but that’s probably not appropriate given the subject.

The virus or the discussion? ?