Championships poll regarding Masks and event cancellation

[dogrsqr]

Yes thanks Ric.  I was trying to figure out how to respond, but you did it well.

In addition if Champs are held it would be great if those coming could be extra diligent about distancing at home a couple of weeks prior.

We are lucky to be retired and are staying away from restaurants and large social gathering places.  We are socializing with small groups, outside, where distancing is easy. 

I would like to come to Champs if things aren't really bad at that time. 

Gina Pizzo

[Jen Bailey]

I've answered the survey and I hope the numbers in WY and surrounding states remain low enough that we are able to have champs this year.  I am OK with not crating in the crating building, requiring masks, lots of sanitizer, hand washing stations, etc. If we have champs this year it will be my first time attending and likely my oldest dog's last since she's 11 and she'll already miss other goals I had hoped for thanks to Covid. So, selfishly I really hope we are able to move forward.  If things are shut down again and it's canceled because the venue can't host well there's not that much we can do about that.

Jen

[agilityaddict2]

A bit off topic but important info.... Edraith, you posted that Covid deaths have to be cremated. That is absolutely false. Perphaps it is true in your area but nationwide that is not true.

[Audri, Cee Cee, Lily, Toto, and Calypso]

I think its important to consider data https://covid19.healthdata.org/ has good graphs of what has happened vs various predicition models.

Keep in mind that about half the states are seeing huge spikes as stay at homes are lifted. For example from Alabama, almost every day now we hit a new record for infections and deaths. Virus mobility is almost back to baseline levels in most states, equal to where we started in March.

This is not getting better. This is getting worse. And many states refuse to re-shut-down due to public outcry. And, the US simply doesnt have good support systems for people to be out of work (thats evil socialism! Oh no!) so i get where workers are coming from but the fact remains this isnt safe. None this is. We should never have to risk our lives so we can make money to stay alive. Thats not great; i dont care your politics - that sort of thinking kills people. As we are sadly seeing.

From a rescuer’s standpoint this is horrible and the sad fact is if one us gets it we probably all get it. We canceled all our rescue classes (The only way we get income as we are not govt supported, most -over 80% - of rescue squads and fire departments in the US are all volunteer; something very few people realise.) Anyway the classes are far smaller than a champs But because they have people congregating from many areas...The last thing you want is for your event to be a new hotspot. If that hotspot happens youll kill nadac agility for a good while.

I dont have a dog in this (ha!) since we dont run at champ level. But perhaps that also means i can look at it from less emotional connection to the event; my emotions are more tied with the first and last responder communities. I have friends where their literal job is picking up the dead (last responder) and until they relax I wont be relaxed. The sad fact is the US is not set to handle this number of dead either. Covid deaths must be cremated and there just arent that many furnaces.

Not easy stuff to think about I know. Morbid, even. But thats the realities. Thats what we are fighting against so people can get their haircuts, manicures, and play agility.

As the stay at home order is lifted, the virus WILL get worse.  The whole stay at home was to flatten the curve, not eradicate the virus.  The virus is out there and it is not going away.  A vaccine is more than 2 years away and given the past attempts with corona vaccines, it could be further since often times, the vaccine made things worse for a large number of people.  And as people venture out, they are going to come in contact with it and may even contract the virus.  The good news is, research has shown that people are not getting as sick with it and are recovering more quickly, most without even needing hospitalization.  That isn't to say people are not still dying from it, so it is a personal choice of what you do.  If you are not comfortable with it, then don't go, but I for one, if I had the ability to go, would absolutely be going. 

The fact is that more than 70% of the deaths in Illinois at least, were in people over the age of 70 and of those 70% more than 85% were people in nursing homes where people already have medical issues.  70% of the cases and deaths in Illinois were also in Chicago and Cook County.  The rest was spread out amongst the remainder of the state.  Illinois death rate per capita is only .04%.  I hardly consider that alarming.....

[BarbMeyer]

I generally try to stay out of these discussions but I start to twitch when I read statements like "it is a personal choice of what you do". In the midst of a viral pandemic you are not just making a choice for yourself to attend a gathering. You are making a choice for everyone who will have contact with you. Your friends and relatives, their friends and relatives, etc.  You are making a choice for the "essential workers" like grocery store clerks and their friends and relatives and the friends and relatives of those people. Also, you are making a choice for the overworked healthcare professionals who will have to care for you and the others that you infect.

I sincerely hope that everyone is giving serious thought to what might happen to their dogs, critters and other dependents if they should become seriously ill with Covid-19. Chances are that if you are ill, others in your household will be as well. It seems to me to be unreasonable and also unethical to ask others to come into your virus infected home to care for your dogs.

At the end of April of this year, I lost an aunt who I had been close to as a child to Covid-19. Yes, she was nearly ninety, and yes she was in a nursing home in (of all god-forsaken places) Brooklyn NY. Up until becoming ill with the virus, she was mentally as sharp as a tack and she didn't need to die alone without her family able to be there. Please do not write off the elderly or those with medical issues as not worthy of consideration.

Barb Meyer

[Becky Woodruff]

Like Barb, any more I try to stay out of these discussions, however, since *I* am looking at the big 7-0 AND I live in close proximity to someone who is immune suppressed and therefore high risk, I take exception to the statement made below:
"The fact is that more than 70% of the deaths in Illinois at least, were in people over the age of 70 and of those 70% more than 85% were people in nursing homes where people already have medical issues.  70% of the cases and deaths in Illinois were also in Chicago and Cook County.  The rest was spread out amongst the remainder of the state.  Illinois death rate per capita is only .04%.  I hardly consider that alarming.....:"

You may not find it alarming, but those who have lost loved ones or have friends and family at risk most likely do.
Becky Woodruff

[runningmadly]

We also take exception to comments about the elderly and those in nursing homes.  Regardless of age or location, these deaths are a tragedy to their loved ones.  In addition, as seen in Florida, younger people are contracting COVID in greater numbers. Yes, they may not get as sick but they are very capable of spreading it to their older family members and there are still so many unknowns about this infection in terms of long term effects.

We are all hoping that championships are able to happen and as has been said, if they do happen, we know that NADAC will do everything they can to make them safe.   We are sure that the NADAC team are weighing all factors in making this decision.

Tom & Pat Moloney-Harmon

[LeeAnne McAdam]

It is frightening to me when we pick out any segment of our population and decide that their lives are less important or not to be concerned about because of whatever quality puts them in that group.  Nothing is ever completely safe, and I know Chris and the rest of the NADAC group will do everything possible to keep people as safe as can be, but no matter the percentage of deaths from COVID-19, if it's you, someone in your family, or someone you care about, that percentage becomes pretty meaningless. 

I hope Champs gets to happen and I hope everyone who goes has the time of their lives, but it doesn't seem right to dismiss the risk because it's mostly only (insert group) that are dying.