bobajob said..

Macaha said..
Waves will come and go just like any other day however human life only comes once.
Rack your boards and think of others wellbeing before yourself. Anybody out surfing should hang their heads in shame, plain and simple,its wrong,a bad look in general.Surfing may not be banned at this stage but I wouldn't be taking advice from a police officer they are not medical experts,listen to the health authorities and take their advice,stay home!

Do you mean if you should be in quarantine? Because I see surfing a way less risk activity (for Corona) than what I do for work which is in the service industry mixing with clients but I am all the time mindful of distancing and respect for hand and general cleanliness.
I don't see why I would hang my head in shame if I ventured out for a surf when I'm not in quarantine. Maybe if I walked out of a shop with a trolley stacked with TP.

I went surfing the other day the place is like a ghost town most business closed and the ones open without a customer in site.
Having owned businesses for 20 years one can't help but feel for the owners who were forced to close shop and lay off their employees for no fault of their own.I had a check surf check paddled out caught two waves and did not enjoy one second of it,Why because I shouldn't have been out trying to enjoy myself while so many others are suffering.I understand many who are in the service industry are still open and many would rather be at home with there family and not put at risk of infection.I think by not surfing or being out and about for no important reason is the least we can do considering whats going on. Yes I felt shame and boards are racked.

supthecreek said..
I am very independent and have always balked at being controlled by anyone, let alone government.
NEVER had a job that interfered with my surfing. EVER.
I jump fences, sneak in and surf where I want.... behavior that is as old as surfing.

Today, all my buddies drove an hour, to surf some great waves.
After surfing weak, mushy waves all winter, I am frothing to surf some of our clean New England juice.

But I didn't go.
My body simply wouldn't let me.
It just didn't feel right in many ways.... not judgemental, just my soul saying I didn't need feed the passion right now.

Like some Breezers have said:
knowing that so many are stuffed up in a city closet somewhere with no grass to walk on, I feel solidarity with them.

I just feel better doing what is asked of me, without complaint.... and I am at ease with that.
If we're going to do this thing.... let's do right!

I hold zero ill feelings for folks who go surfing.
In many respects, it's no different than taking a walk outside.. and we should be getting exercise for so many reasons.
I do plan to paddle flat-water, just down the street from my house.
I'll be 72 in a few weeks... I need to keep moving, or I'll rust in place.

Everybody has their own decisions to make, and their own reasons for making them.
One buddy has been sidelined for 6 months after a shoulder operation... he was clear to surf last week. He went, and I am glad he did.

I did however, talk one of my crew into putting his Foil in storage until this is over.
He is a rank beginner and prone to hurting himself.
No need to take up precious medical services right now.
He agreed to lay off Foil for a few months, and went SUP surfing instead.

Here is a pic he sent me before he paddled out.

100% agree with that...

I have stopped surfing but in the last few days paddled in my estuary as a escape and for exercise. I can walk with my board to the water. I've just found out that this is now banned. I will adhere whilst not liking it. I also get it though, if I was a beginner and not understanding the massive tidal movement you can easily get in trouble...

This is the bush I walk thru ( track ) to the beach, about 4/5 minutes. Have only been swimming and body surfing at the beach. If this restricted travel lasts for months I might walk the sup down. At the moment is ok. Saw nobody yesterday on my walk and swim. The track comes out on the middle of a kilometer long beach - has a car park at either end - both of these were empty - not like the point. Sorry abt pic upside down. STEVE

aceman8772 said..
Here in Japan. I went for a paddle today. Drove 80 km round trip. Hadn't thought about Colas point about accidents. Yet, I would do it again.
The CDC in the States noted that 32 million people in the US had flu this season alone. Over 300k required hospitalization and 18k died.
Is the China virus scary? If I focus strictly on what the media tells me, yes. I just refuse to be cowed by a media driven to propagate fear for ratings for or political motivations. Think I am kidding, look at the numbers from swine flu and ask yourself what was the difference? Could it be that a black president was elected and given a Nobel peace prize before even taking office? Could it be that a certain group is desperate to remove a sitting president?
Oh, I know that's US centric. Well, Hong Kong is quiet which was the intent of allowing 5 million infected to leave China.
Germany isn't talking about getting rid of Merkel. Spain isn't dealing with the youths protesting unemployment at 50%. France doesn't have any union workers shutting down France to protest their government. Italy and Greece are paying for years of austerity which had doctors and nurses going to other countries. Yet, they are subdued as well.
So, to my European friends, be obedient and stay in your homes becpause you are correct. The police are pissed and will enforce. After all they were the only public employees not to take a pay cut.
To men from down under, come on. You paddle in water with whites, bulls, tigers, and crocs. You have all kinds of dangerous snakes around your house. You endure droughts and fires. You gonna cower because the government wants to change the narrative about the economy tanking cause of China?

Me, I am going to live. I stay calm, wash my hands, and try to keep it all in perspective. I am not going to play the what if game from my couch. What if I crash? What if I get worked by a wave? What if the police catch me and give me a beat down?
All that results in is me self restricting my own freedom.

It is one thing for you to speak the praises of the long-standing Japanese culture of discipline and why it has not taken hold there, but don't use that to extropolate to the rediculous notion that this is a mega world wide conspiracy against Trump or anyone else.

COVID-19 is not the same as the flu. It is far more contagious and more deadly. You need to understand the problem before you rant like this. Intelligent people can ignore your rants, and others like them, but there are those amounst us who want to believe that this is a conspiracy and use that as an excuse to break the rules - putting everyone at risk.

If we were all like the Japanese, with life long practices as you describe above and in your other post, then yes, it may not spread as much. But that is simply not the case. In Japan the message may be "keep doing what you have always done", in Australia and most other countries it means that a massive change to practices is required. I can't even buy masks.

As I understand it, another difference in Japan is that many of the decisions are made by a medical body, they are not influenced by politicians as they are in Australia, the US and the UK. As I understand it, there is not as much testing in Japan (as is the case here).

Either way, surely you can see the spread of the virus, and the deaths, and the impact on the medical system (for covid cases, for other emergency cases, and for medical staff) - or is that a media beat-up too?

For what it is worth, I found this. I have no idea about its accuracy, but it makes interesting reading:
theconversation.com/coronavirus-in-japan-why-is-the-infection-rate-relatively-low-133648

And for what it's worth, Japan has 1500 cases and 49 deaths - so not perfect.
gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

bigmc said..

OkiWild said..
Still business as usual in Japan. No tourists, people being more careful than usual, and all that, but people are still going to work, still doing their thing. People keep saying "It's going to explode in Japan." Maybe, but why didn't it before, as we were pretty neat the epicenter, and Chinese tourists abounded.


Countries around the world accused Japan of hiding the numbers by not testing enough. Very possible, but where are all the sick people and why aren't the hospitals overrun? We should be way ahead of Italy and everyone else in terms of infection strain on the hospitals.


A lot of people around me believe it already burned through here, but who really knows. In early February, by boss got sick with something that really knocked him down. Then I got it. Then everyone I know got it. But no one had it the same. You know how when a cold goes around, and people compare symptoms, and they're like "Yup, I got the same thing," as a cold and flu will affect people about the same from person to person? And how one person in a work place gets sick, and then maybe a few other people will get sick? Yea...not like that. EVERYONE got sick; to the last person. While my boss thought he was going to die, Fever, and all that, I got a slight sore throat for a day (or half a day), a cough during the night for two days, horrible runny nose for two days. That went away, and then moved into my chest. I have seasonal asthma, but it was nothing like that. I used a steroid inhaler for five days with no effect. One day OK, the next felt like someone was standing on my chest. Unbelievably tired. Just over a month later, and I still have some minor upper chest congestion on some days. Never had this feeling in my life... Some people had it way easier, and some much worse. Some people still have the chest congestion. No one thought about it at the time, but the infection rate and variance of symptoms sure is strange... My wife's cousin is an Internal Med MD with his own clinic. He told me he believes he has seen it quite a few times. They test for flu and it's negative. Nothing they can do but tell people to go to the main prefecture hospital, and they won't test unless you have a path to a known infection source... He believes it is widespread, only they're not testing for it... A few other doctors and nurses I know (my daughter is a nurse at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo) also have stated they think it's already widespread.But without data, all you have is and opinion. Without widespread testing, there is no data. Sort of like ****ushima. If the Japan government pulls funding from the JMA, and tells them to stop testing the ocean around the plant for radiation, anyone saying there's contamination is only voicing opinion. Right? It's all so confusing. Too much information and not enough information at the same time. The engineer in me is pulling my hair out. Everything that makes sense has contradictions, and things that make no sense are supported by data...WTF?


Anyway, I have it on good authority that Japan will start locking the doors here in about another day. Starting with 14 day quarantine for anyone entering the country. Which leads me to ask "Why now?" Is it because the reality is that none of us have had it, and it's still a threat? Then how, with so many Chinese tourists, and being so close to the epicenter, did we dodge a bullet until now? How did it knock down the rest of the world before the next closest country?


Not scared. I'm just a thinker, and a planner. A bit of a prepper after the 2011 tsunami. But not a hoarder. Being a hunter, and avid outdoors-man, it's always been my intent to feed as many people as I can in a disaster situation. Biggest puzzle ever, and the clues are all BS. This is why I need to go surf. My mind races at a million miles per hour about all sorts of things; every angle covered, and the ocean is the only thing that quiets it. I'm going surfing. If it's flat, I'm going spearfishing.


Thanks for listening. This is the first I've said to anyone about any of it.

Edit* I have no idea why it won't let you type the legit name of the place in Japan F u k u shima without censoring the word like it's the F word.

This guy also in Japan. Sounds like it has gone through the community but no cases recorded so no data. Therefore it appears things are going well there. More of a heard immunity outcome.

That's a very interesting story - I missed it earlier... The engineer in me also wonders why there is so little testing in Japan and here. I came back from South Africa two weeks ago and was told I could not be tested. More recently they said only people who have recently traveled can be tested - if they have the symptoms. But later you hear stats that the majority of the people infected have recently traveled. Correlation or causation? Of course, they test people sick enough to be admitted to hospital who present with the symptoms, but I would still suspect that the data are skewed...

But one thing for sure, if everyone abided by the earliest recommendations to self-isolate, maintain safe distances, stay clean, etc., the situation would be better than it is today, and harsher measures may not have been mandated.

cantSUPenough said..

bigmc said..

OkiWild said..
Still business as usual in Japan. No tourists, people being more careful than usual, and all that, but people are still going to work, still doing their thing. People keep saying "It's going to explode in Japan." Maybe, but why didn't it before, as we were pretty neat the epicenter, and Chinese tourists abounded.


Countries around the world accused Japan of hiding the numbers by not testing enough. Very possible, but where are all the sick people and why aren't the hospitals overrun? We should be way ahead of Italy and everyone else in terms of infection strain on the hospitals.


A lot of people around me believe it already burned through here, but who really knows. In early February, by boss got sick with something that really knocked him down. Then I got it. Then everyone I know got it. But no one had it the same. You know how when a cold goes around, and people compare symptoms, and they're like "Yup, I got the same thing," as a cold and flu will affect people about the same from person to person? And how one person in a work place gets sick, and then maybe a few other people will get sick? Yea...not like that. EVERYONE got sick; to the last person. While my boss thought he was going to die, Fever, and all that, I got a slight sore throat for a day (or half a day), a cough during the night for two days, horrible runny nose for two days. That went away, and then moved into my chest. I have seasonal asthma, but it was nothing like that. I used a steroid inhaler for five days with no effect. One day OK, the next felt like someone was standing on my chest. Unbelievably tired. Just over a month later, and I still have some minor upper chest congestion on some days. Never had this feeling in my life... Some people had it way easier, and some much worse. Some people still have the chest congestion. No one thought about it at the time, but the infection rate and variance of symptoms sure is strange... My wife's cousin is an Internal Med MD with his own clinic. He told me he believes he has seen it quite a few times. They test for flu and it's negative. Nothing they can do but tell people to go to the main prefecture hospital, and they won't test unless you have a path to a known infection source... He believes it is widespread, only they're not testing for it... A few other doctors and nurses I know (my daughter is a nurse at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo) also have stated they think it's already widespread.But without data, all you have is and opinion. Without widespread testing, there is no data. Sort of like ****ushima. If the Japan government pulls funding from the JMA, and tells them to stop testing the ocean around the plant for radiation, anyone saying there's contamination is only voicing opinion. Right? It's all so confusing. Too much information and not enough information at the same time. The engineer in me is pulling my hair out. Everything that makes sense has contradictions, and things that make no sense are supported by data...WTF?


Anyway, I have it on good authority that Japan will start locking the doors here in about another day. Starting with 14 day quarantine for anyone entering the country. Which leads me to ask "Why now?" Is it because the reality is that none of us have had it, and it's still a threat? Then how, with so many Chinese tourists, and being so close to the epicenter, did we dodge a bullet until now? How did it knock down the rest of the world before the next closest country?


Not scared. I'm just a thinker, and a planner. A bit of a prepper after the 2011 tsunami. But not a hoarder. Being a hunter, and avid outdoors-man, it's always been my intent to feed as many people as I can in a disaster situation. Biggest puzzle ever, and the clues are all BS. This is why I need to go surf. My mind races at a million miles per hour about all sorts of things; every angle covered, and the ocean is the only thing that quiets it. I'm going surfing. If it's flat, I'm going spearfishing.


Thanks for listening. This is the first I've said to anyone about any of it.

Edit* I have no idea why it won't let you type the legit name of the place in Japan F u k u shima without censoring the word like it's the F word.

This guy also in Japan. Sounds like it has gone through the community but no cases recorded so no data. Therefore it appears things are going well there. More of a heard immunity outcome.

That's a very interesting story - I missed it earlier... The engineer in me also wonders why there is so little testing in Japan and here. I came back from South Africa two weeks ago and was told I could not be tested. More recently they said only people who have recently traveled can be tested - if they have the symptoms. But later you hear stats that the majority of the people infected have recently traveled. Correlation or causation? Of course, they test people sick enough to be admitted to hospital who present with the symptoms, but I would still suspect that the data are skewed...

But one thing for sure, if everyone abided by the earliest recommendations to self-isolate, maintain safe distances, stay clean, etc., the situation would be better than it is today, and harsher measures may not have been mandated.

Correlation or causation...? Exactly. Not enough data to make heads or tails of anything. What seems reasonable is contradicted by other reasonable data, and what seems unreasonable is supported by solid data...



To be clear, I'm not stating that what I and others had in the above post was the bug in question. Seems suspicious, but where are all the critically ill and dying people? I have several close doctor friends. They have nothing good to say about the way the central government is handling things, but also state there are no dead and dying masses. You can't cover that kind of thing up in Japan. It's not like limiting information on F u k ushima, where all the information had to go through the government. Here, they won't put "pneumonia" as reason for death. It has to be what caused the illness, and Japanese doctors are religious about this.As it was explained to me, the original reason for limited testing was sound, and mass testing is only effective in trying to stop something where there's a cure. It has no effect on limiting spread of a highly contagious pathogen with no cure. Accuracy is the most important thing, and they were trying to avoid false positives that come with the faster, cheaper tests available at the time. This much was true. The conspiracy BS drives me nuts.



All that said, I believe that Japan dodged the original bullet, not due to competent government leadership, but due to cultural habits. When the warning was put out, the average person doubled down on this with increases mask wearing in close-quarters public places, hand washing, etc. At the entrance of a large home center, there were no fewer people, but I witnessed people lining up and using the hand sanitizer at the entrance to the store, on entering the store, and leaving the store. Making sure their hands were bug-free before touching things in the store, as well as disinfecting after leaving the store. A real shift from "don't get sick" to "don't spread the sick." A month ago, if you went to the Starbucks drive through, instead of taking the credit card, they started holding the reader out the window for you to insert and remove it yourself. A million other little things like that.




Things are tense now, and looking to escalate. Tokyo is finally locking down, and the government is just now waking up to what's happening... 14 day quarantine for anyone entering the country has been started. Hopefully it's not too late. Tempers seem to be high on the board. People are wound up. We have lots of dumb people here in Okinawa, too, like the family who decided to go to Spain on March 13, returning with a positive member on the 21st...because tickets were cheap. It's easy to get angry now. What's worked for me is keeping my world small. I can be concerned that there are people still acting like idiots, but that's not in my control, so I won't let it drag me down into a spiral of angry obsession. I stick to thinking about the things that are right in front of me, and within my control. This has really helped bring it down a few notches.




Stay safe, my friends.

cantSUPenough said..

aceman8772 said..
Here in Japan. I went for a paddle today. Drove 80 km round trip. Hadn't thought about Colas point about accidents. Yet, I would do it again.
The CDC in the States noted that 32 million people in the US had flu this season alone. Over 300k required hospitalization and 18k died.
Is the China virus scary? If I focus strictly on what the media tells me, yes. I just refuse to be cowed by a media driven to propagate fear for ratings for or political motivations. Think I am kidding, look at the numbers from swine flu and ask yourself what was the difference? Could it be that a black president was elected and given a Nobel peace prize before even taking office? Could it be that a certain group is desperate to remove a sitting president?
Oh, I know that's US centric. Well, Hong Kong is quiet which was the intent of allowing 5 million infected to leave China.
Germany isn't talking about getting rid of Merkel. Spain isn't dealing with the youths protesting unemployment at 50%. France doesn't have any union workers shutting down France to protest their government. Italy and Greece are paying for years of austerity which had doctors and nurses going to other countries. Yet, they are subdued as well.
So, to my European friends, be obedient and stay in your homes becpause you are correct. The police are pissed and will enforce. After all they were the only public employees not to take a pay cut.
To men from down under, come on. You paddle in water with whites, bulls, tigers, and crocs. You have all kinds of dangerous snakes around your house. You endure droughts and fires. You gonna cower because the government wants to change the narrative about the economy tanking cause of China?

Me, I am going to live. I stay calm, wash my hands, and try to keep it all in perspective. I am not going to play the what if game from my couch. What if I crash? What if I get worked by a wave? What if the police catch me and give me a beat down?
All that results in is me self restricting my own freedom.

It is one thing for you to speak the praises of the long-standing Japanese culture of discipline and why it has not taken hold there, but don't use that to extropolate to the rediculous notion that this is a mega world wide conspiracy against Trump or anyone else.

COVID-19 is not the same as the flu. It is far more contagious and more deadly. You need to understand the problem before you rant like this. Intelligent people can ignore your rants, and others like them, but there are those amounst us who want to believe that this is a conspiracy and use that as an excuse to break the rules - putting everyone at risk.

If we were all like the Japanese, with life long practices as you describe above and in your other post, then yes, it may not spread as much. But that is simply not the case. In Japan the message may be "keep doing what you have always done", in Australia and most other countries it means that a massive change to practices is required. I can't even buy masks.

As I understand it, another difference in Japan is that many of the decisions are made by a medical body, they are not influenced by politicians as they are in Australia, the US and the UK. As I understand it, there is not as much testing in Japan (as is the case here).

Either way, surely you can see the spread of the virus, and the deaths, and the impact on the medical system (for covid cases, for other emergency cases, and for medical staff) - or is that a media beat-up too?

For what it is worth, I found this. I have no idea about its accuracy, but it makes interesting reading:
theconversation.com/coronavirus-in-japan-why-is-the-infection-rate-relatively-low-133648

And for what it's worth, Japan has 1500 cases and 49 deaths - so not perfect.
gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

I never said Japan was perfect. I said they are more responsible about taking care.

I am ok with you linking my conspiracy theory rant as an excuse to go out and endanger people. It is not a fair statement though.The original topic was paddling in a pandemic. While I do honestly believe the media is covering this for political reasons, I don't feel that someone going for a paddle is endangering people on the level that they need to be locked in their house. If the topic was is it safe to swap spit with a stranger on a crowded train in New York City, I would have a different answer. So, go ahead and insult me, call me stupid but please stop, take a breath, and apply some critical thinking to what you are being told and see if you really believe going for a paddle will be more reckless than people licking toilet seats or gathering in large groups or fighting over toilet paper.

Tomorrow is looking like the best downwind conditions in Melbourne in months but I don't think anyone is going out. You can't be doing car shuffles during a social distancing lockdown.

cantSUPenough said..

aceman8772 said..

cantSUPenough said..

aceman8772 said..
Here in Japan. I went for a paddle today. Drove 80 km round trip. Hadn't thought about Colas point about accidents. Yet, I would do it again.
The CDC in the States noted that 32 million people in the US had flu this season alone. Over 300k required hospitalization and 18k died.
Is the China virus scary? If I focus strictly on what the media tells me, yes. I just refuse to be cowed by a media driven to propagate fear for ratings for or political motivations. Think I am kidding, look at the numbers from swine flu and ask yourself what was the difference? Could it be that a black president was elected and given a Nobel peace prize before even taking office? Could it be that a certain group is desperate to remove a sitting president?
Oh, I know that's US centric. Well, Hong Kong is quiet which was the intent of allowing 5 million infected to leave China.
Germany isn't talking about getting rid of Merkel. Spain isn't dealing with the youths protesting unemployment at 50%. France doesn't have any union workers shutting down France to protest their government. Italy and Greece are paying for years of austerity which had doctors and nurses going to other countries. Yet, they are subdued as well.
So, to my European friends, be obedient and stay in your homes becpause you are correct. The police are pissed and will enforce. After all they were the only public employees not to take a pay cut.
To men from down under, come on. You paddle in water with whites, bulls, tigers, and crocs. You have all kinds of dangerous snakes around your house. You endure droughts and fires. You gonna cower because the government wants to change the narrative about the economy tanking cause of China?

Me, I am going to live. I stay calm, wash my hands, and try to keep it all in perspective. I am not going to play the what if game from my couch. What if I crash? What if I get worked by a wave? What if the police catch me and give me a beat down?
All that results in is me self restricting my own freedom.

It is one thing for you to speak the praises of the long-standing Japanese culture of discipline and why it has not taken hold there, but don't use that to extropolate to the rediculous notion that this is a mega world wide conspiracy against Trump or anyone else.

COVID-19 is not the same as the flu. It is far more contagious and more deadly. You need to understand the problem before you rant like this. Intelligent people can ignore your rants, and others like them, but there are those amounst us who want to believe that this is a conspiracy and use that as an excuse to break the rules - putting everyone at risk.

If we were all like the Japanese, with life long practices as you describe above and in your other post, then yes, it may not spread as much. But that is simply not the case. In Japan the message may be "keep doing what you have always done", in Australia and most other countries it means that a massive change to practices is required. I can't even buy masks.

As I understand it, another difference in Japan is that many of the decisions are made by a medical body, they are not influenced by politicians as they are in Australia, the US and the UK. As I understand it, there is not as much testing in Japan (as is the case here).

Either way, surely you can see the spread of the virus, and the deaths, and the impact on the medical system (for covid cases, for other emergency cases, and for medical staff) - or is that a media beat-up too?

For what it is worth, I found this. I have no idea about its accuracy, but it makes interesting reading:
theconversation.com/coronavirus-in-japan-why-is-the-infection-rate-relatively-low-133648

And for what it's worth, Japan has 1500 cases and 49 deaths - so not perfect.
gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

I never said Japan was perfect. I said they are more responsible about taking care.

I am ok with you linking my conspiracy theory rant as an excuse to go out and endanger people. It is not a fair statement though.The original topic was paddling in a pandemic. While I do honestly believe the media is covering this for political reasons, I don't feel that someone going for a paddle is endangering people on the level that they need to be locked in their house. If the topic was is it safe to swap spit with a stranger on a crowded train in New York City, I would have a different answer. So, go ahead and insult me, call me stupid but please stop, take a breath, and apply some critical thinking to what you are being told and see if you really believe going for a paddle will be more reckless than people licking toilet seats or gathering in large groups or fighting over toilet paper.

You are correct. Every single action we take can be scrutinized, whether it be paddling, sitting on a beach, or anything else.

And I apologize for implying you are stupid.

There are people out there who are using a variety of excuses to suggest that this is a media beat-up. People are dying. Hospitals are being overwhelmed (not here). And people are still behaving irresponsibly. Yesterday we had a beautiful sunny day. The local beach was crowded, and the line-up was crowded - so they had to close the beach.

(A friend of mine who went to the beach actually complained - "this virus is only killing 1%, what's the fuss all about?".)

It appears that taking proactive, clear, tough steps will stop everyone in the community from spreading the virus.

Thank you for your time and dialogue on this. I have a lot of false bravado.
I read that some people presented with the runs. Next day I woke up with an upset stomach and was on edge. I knew it was more likely all the sukiyaki I ate the night before but I still was nervous.
We will not be able to stop the spread of this virus. However, you are absolutely correct that we need to be more responsible in taking steps to slow the spread. Crazy people like me have been practicing social distancing for years. My greatest exposure to people is at work and I was directed to reduce my 32 employees to 50%, so they come in every other day. So aside from being a conspiracy theorist, I think that my issue is that I don't hard understand why people have to be told not gather in groups because outside of work, I try to avoid crowds at all costs. I don't do movies, concerts, clubs, or anything like that.

Thank you for your time. Be safe, keep calm, and wash your hands. Hopefully someday I can read your posts on boards, fins, and waves caught again after this has run its course.

I live in an area of the West Kootenays (inland) in BC that has very low population density, with the largest town in the region having 11,000 people. The beaches and water access points are uncrowded largely due to the weather still being cool, but people here are obeying social distancing for the most part. I was a bit surprised to come around a small rock island on the river last weekend and see a kayaker who was also out enjoying the sun.

The majority of deaths from Covid-19 in British Columbia have come from a single care home in the Vancouver area, and data modelling is suggesting we are headed towards "flattening the curve", which has been attributed to social distancing and province wide travel restrictions. BC has gone from a daily transmission rate of 24% to 12% recently, but the largest one day increase was today, was only 11%. Hope you all are doing well.

OK--drove 3 ks to a quiet spot yesterday.
Didn't speak to anyone - perfect so far...
Glassy, warm, sunny, good for the body and mind.
The only problem I had was the pod of dolphins that were clearly not engaging in any social distancing!

My niece is an OHS nurse at a construction site - she was having trouble explaining the safe distancing rules, until she came up with the idea of "dead body"...basically you have to imagine a dead body between people to be at a safe distance.
Think about it...it works!

colas said..

aceman8772 said..
research facts on this year's flu season, media coverage of Swine flu in 2009

I known that your mentions of Obama and Swine flu sound suspiciously like the propaganda of some extremist factions and Putin troll farms, so you may not want to actually look at figures, but try at least to look at a picture. We are talking of a lethality probably of two orders of magnitude more (e.g. 100x)
www.businessinsider.fr/us/coronavirus-compared-to-sars-swine-flu-mers-zika-2020-3
Plus the real danger being the collapse of the health infrastructure, and the death of health workers, which appear to be at a much higher risk than average.

There is a threshold effect: when you have not enough people to manage the ICU, the lethality explodes. The covid-19 is extremely stressful on hospitals both because more people need it than the flu, but also they stay in ICU for a hugely longer time. Just look at what is actually happening in hospitals. As an example, to turn somebody with a respirator, you need 5 people, who have to dress and undress in PPE gear between each patient. With the flu, they are vaccinated, so they do not have to take all these precautions. It is absolutely not comparable.
Try to read this perspective from doctors having to do their will and find people to take care of their kids after their death, but with "backups" for people who are also health workers as they are also too at risk. Doctors and nurses are not just simple figures on a spreadsheet or campaign rallies scapegoats.

www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/23/covid-doctor-ppe-143943

Colas,

I think you have hit the nail on the head.

The collapse of the infrastructure is their greatest worry. The reason for the draconian measures relates to the huge pressure placed on ICU bedding which the system doesn't account for. In other words we don't build hospitals in the event of a pandemic.This has caught everyone with their pants down. Self isolating is not so much about mitigating spread but rather buying time for a more effective solution to appear against the backdrop of strained hospital beds which simply cant cope with this outbreak.

I keep saying it but we could all bunker down for the next month. What do you think will happen in a months time? Do you think that COVID-19 will simply disappear? It won't. We can't manage at the best of times in the flu season AND we have vaccines available for that.

This entire situation is going through a stage where those that self isolate are pitted against those that don't.

I have been going out in the surf. I have adopted good social distancing practices which I have to anyway as part of my work. We limit the number of people that go in a room. We must wash our hands and apply sanitiser before the commencement of duties and we will be soon required to undertake temperature checks as well.

I am big on using gyms which sadly have come to a close so I have had to adjust like everyone else. For many Australians going to a gym represents mental health therapy. Whilst I am mindful of the rules I do wonder what the anxiety/depression rates will be like in months and years to come as a result of this pandemic.

And yet you can still go to your local liquor store to purchase alcohol. Really??? That comes under the bracket of an essential service??
Hmmmm....

Well, things escalated quickly...

www.theinertia.com/surf/officer-in-costa-rica-appears-to-discharge-firearm-in-direction-of-surfer/

In NSW Australia, things you see permitted to leave home for :

Refer 5

1. Obtaining food or other goods or services for the personal needs of the household or other household purposes (including for pets) and for vulnerable persons2. Travelling for the purposes of work if the person cannot work from the person's place of residence3. Travelling for the purposes of attending childcare (including picking up or dropping another person at childcare)4. Travelling for the purposes of facilitating attendance at a school or other educational institution if the person attending the school or institution cannot learn from the person's place of residence5. Exercising6. Obtaining medical care or supplies or health supplies or fulfilling carer's responsibilities7. Attending a wedding or a funeral8. Moving to a new place of residence (including a business moving to new premises) or between different places of residence of the person or inspecting a potential new place of residence9. Providing care or assistance (including personal care) to a vulnerable person or providing emergency assistance10. Donating blood11. Undertaking any legal obligations12. Accessing public services (whether provided by Government, a private provider or a non-Government organisation), including social services, employment services, domestic violence services, mental health services, and services provided to victims (including as victims of crime)13. For children who do not live in the same household as their parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings - continuing existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children or siblings14. For a person who is a priest, minister of religion or member of a religious order going to the person's place of worship or providing pastoral care to another person15. Avoiding injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm16. For emergencies or compassionate reasons.


www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/coronavirus-all-the-fines-you-can-cop-for-ignoring-new-virus-rules/news-story/ee0db30c2e2ec8eef7cfe71700f87134

Here is an interesting explication by an health worker in Bordeaux who is also a surfer of why banning surfing is necessary, even if it does not seem to make sense at first from an individual perspective. Article in French at www.surfsession.com/articles/sant/covid-19-temoignage-soignant-chu-bordeaux-320206738.html

A bit long to translate properly by hand, but with the DeepL and Google translation, it is understandable. I copy here both:

Google:

Hi all,

I chose to contact Surf Session because I see comments and attitudes that are irresponsible on social networks. And, we send it EVERY day.

I am a caregiver at the Bordeaux University Hospital and on the front line during this COVID-19 crisis. I am like all those who will read this testimony: completely addicted to surfing (I live 10 minutes from my homespot), to the ocean and to sport in general.

I was the first to believe that this crisis would be fleeting, but I had to face the facts. When the first testimonies of resuscitation caregivers, anesthetists or emergency physicians reached us: we were speechless. We see serious stuff and complicated situations every day. What our colleagues are experiencing in the East of France is cold in the back, believe me!

At the time of writing, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, we are still very spared from the contamination and the number of serious cases. Unfortunately, this is only temporary, let's not face it! No one can predict who will be spared.

You must understand that if you think that by going into the water alone you are not putting anyone in danger, you are mistaken.

Why ? Because if everyone reasons like this, everyone will have the same idea: go to the water.

From the Girondine coast to the Basque coast, you all know the month of August, with the heat and the swell. When everyone is in the water at the same time, it is China. We are the first to complain that our spots are overcrowded. I insist, the virus circulates even if it is invisible! If all French people find an excuse, we will not succeed.

I'm the first to moan. I have not had any crazy conditions in recent weeks, my trip to Indonesia fell into the water following the requisition of the whole profession. But it's like that.

I'm not going to bring you out the COVID-19 figures, there are plenty of them disseminated in the media all day or on the Internet by searching a little. Just know that among the patients we have in Bordeaux, some are less than 30 years old ...

We have emptied our resuscitation beds, we no longer operate to free up space, private and public hospital even fighting. I have never seen this in my entire career and no one has experienced such a situation.

And it may not be enough. We are in dire need of masks that have been rationed for 24 hours. I'm lucky to have one, it's a luxury.

We're going to treat people who potentially will make us sick. In eastern France, some of the caregivers are already contaminated.

We don't have enough equipment, artificial respirators for example, these machines that ventilate our patients who are in a coma. We are going to transform conventional services into resuscitation services. We will do everything to try to save the most people. But we will not succeed. And you can get me all the possible and unimaginable excuses, we are not allowed to die at 60 when you are not even retired, neither at 50, nor at 40 and even less at 30 years...

Dying at 30 from this virus is not an option! Eat 4 or more weeks of resuscitation at age 30 either. And yet, 50% of resuscitation patients are young people without comorbidity.

Resuscitation beds: we have them for now, but we're going to run out ... We know that. And we don't want to choose between who should live and who should die. Yet this is the scenario that presents itself to us. We only have one way to stop this pandemic is to stay home. It is the only effective solution to date. The faster and better you do it, the more effective it will be and the less time it will last.

So please STAY AT HOME. Everybody is concerned. What are we going to lose? About ten sessions? What is it in a surfer's life? Not much.

I do not want to be a lesson giver or anything, it is simply the testimony of a caregiver among many others who will go to charcoal with little equipment, potentially risking his life and it will last for weeks ... Already that it is complicated on a daily basis, then there, imagine!

Thank you for being so kind to believe what I just wrote. Thank you for having a little respect for all the caregivers and doctors who will be on the front lines. Hear us. Thank you for thinking of these people whose job it is, but who believe me, would rather be in the water.

I invite doctors or caregivers to write and also give their testimonies as long as we still have time to do so.

Besides, thank you for reading, keep smiling, surfing will come back.

DeepL:

"Hi, everybody,

I chose to contact Surf Session because I see on social networks comments and attitudes that are irresponsible. And, I get them EVERY day.

I am a nurse at the Bordeaux University Hospital and on the front line during this COVID-19 crisis. I am like all those who will read this testimony: completely addicted to surfing (I live 10 minutes from my homespot), the ocean and sports in general.

I was the first to believe that this crisis would be temporary, but I had to face the facts. When the first testimonies of resuscitation nurses, anaesthetist-animators or emergency doctors reached us: we were stunned. We see serious things and complicated situations every day. What our colleagues in the East of France are going through, it's scary, believe me!

As I write these lines, in New-Aquitaine, we are still very much spared by the contamination and the number of serious cases. Unfortunately, this is only temporary, let's not kid ourselves! No one can predict who will be spared.

You must understand that if you think that by going to the water alone you are not putting anyone in danger, you are wrong.

Why is that wrong? Because if everyone thinks that way, everyone will have the same idea: go to the water.

From the Gironde coast to the Basque coast, you all know the month of August, with the heat and the swell. When everyone is in the water at the same time, it's China. We're the first to complain that our spots are overcrowded. I insist, the virus circulates even though it's invisible! If all the French find an excuse, we won't make it.

I'm the first to complain. I haven't had any crazy conditions these last few weeks, my trip to Indonesia fell through after the requisition of the whole profession. But that's the way it is.

I'm not going to bring out the figures for VIDOC-19, there are plenty of them in the media all day long or on the internet looking for a bit. Just know that among the patients we have in Bordeaux, some are under 30 years old...

We've emptied our intensive care beds, we don't operate on anyone anymore to free up space, private and public hospitals even fight the same battle. I've never seen anything like it in my entire career and no one has ever experienced such a situation.

And it may not be enough. We're sorely lacking in masks that have been rationed for 24 hours. I'm lucky to have one. It's a luxury.

We're going to be treating people who will potentially make us sick. In the East of France, some of the care workers are already contaminated.

We don't have enough equipment, artificial respirators for example, those machines that ventilate our patients who are in a coma. We're going to transform conventional wards into intensive care units. We're going to do everything we can to try to save as many people as possible. But we won't succeed. And you can make all the excuses I can think of, we can't die at 60 when you're not even retired, not at 50, not at 40, let alone 30...

Dying at 30 from this virus is not an option! Eating 4 weeks or more of resuscitation at 30 either. And yet, 50% of the patients in resuscitation are young people without comorbidity.

Resuscitation beds: we have some for now, but we're going to run out... We know that. And we don't want to choose between who lives and who dies. But that's the scenario we're facing. We have only one way to stop this pandemic: to stay home. This is the only effective solution to date. The faster and better you do it, the more effective it will be and the shorter it will last.

So please, STAY HOME. It's everybody's concern. What are we gonna lose? A big ten sessions? What's it like being a surfer? It's no big deal.

I don't want to be a lecturer or anything, it's just the testimony of one of many caregivers who's going to go to the coal mine with little equipment, potentially risking his life and it's going to last for weeks... It's already complicated on a daily basis, so imagine!

Thank you for being so kind as to believe what I have just written. Thank you for having a little respect for all the caregivers and doctors who will be on the front line. Please listen to us. Thank you for thinking of those people whose job it is, but who, believe me, would rather be in the water.

I invite the doctors or caregivers to write and give their testimonials as well while we still have time to do so.

See you later, thanks for reading, keep smiling, the surf will come back. ?


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)