CoVid19 Virus : Impact on PJ Spring & Summer Tours

mattsavard

With things now starting to show signs of hitting open transmission in a couple countries outside a China, is anyone else getting nervous that this could impact the tour? 

As of right now this is a total non-issue in North America, however increasing number of experts are openly concerned we will see a significant number of cases over in the US and Canada.

It goes without saying that open transmission would be a huge issue in GA, but also a problem in other seating areas as well as mingling in concourse and queuing. 

Not to mention the slim possibility of the band deciding not to put themselves or their fans/crew at risk and cancelling outright. 

I don't think it's something to freak out over as of yet, but bears watching. Especially considering travel insurance generally doesn't cover show cancellations or "fear of pandemic". 

Thoughts?

BugCityForTheNight

Oh man, stop stressing me out! I'm coming from Australia for the tour! Would be pretty annoying if the first leg of the tour was effected in any way.

F Me In The Brain

No, I would be more worried about the flu 

mattsavard

Sorry not trying to stress anyone out, just curious if anyone else is pondering it. 

As of now we are in good shape, and it generally takes 3wks to become a real issue once it does gain a foothold, so we are pretty quickly approaching the point where the early dates are in the semi-safe zone. 

Will Begin to feel comfortable about Ottawa and Quebec City if we roll into March without issues here. 

KN219077

F Me In The Brain said:

No, I would be more worried about the flu 

Exactly. People watch the news too much. Flu is all around you, and way more likely to get you.

drfox

I was concerned about the Euro tour as well after having booked non refundable travel and hotels for 5 shows.

JimmyV

Can't control it, not going to worry about it.

gotthebottle

You can control some.. wash hands, don't cough on people,  if you have a fever DON'T GO TO A SHOW. 
As a health care provider what worries me is flu.... San Diego flu deaths are double last year at this point. 
But both are viruses.... spread easily by people who go out in public and shouldn't. 

jimjam1982

Kind of like the Ebola scare of 2010 (I dont really remember the year), this too will fade away and be largely irrelevant for USA and Canada.

rb173565

i take it you dont remember the dark times of SARS, swine flu or bird flu which wiped out millions of people in the worst pandemics known to man. coronavirus is in the same league as those..... if i was in the u.s.i'd be more concerned about some half wit with an automatic rifle.

gotthebottle

rb173565 said:

i take it you dont remember the dark times of SARS, swine flu or bird flu which wiped out millions of people in the worst pandemics known to man. coronavirus is in the same league as those..... if i was in the u.s.i'd be more concerned about some half wit with an automatic rifle.

This.....we should all be concerned about spreading infectious diseases like viruses.....every day, not just now. I remember SARS and Swine Flu all too well....plus Legionnaire's . To say "this too will fade away and be largely irrelevant for USA and Canada" is a bit naive.

ComeToTX

I'm traveling to Japan in a few weeks and people keep asking if I'm scared and I say the same thing about the flu.  Nothing I can do to control it and if it becomes a worldwide epidemic then at least I saw Japan before checking out.

JimmyV

Are we living the first 100 pages of The Stand?

gotthebottle

ComeToTX said:

I'm traveling to Japan in a few weeks and people keep asking if I'm scared and I say the same thing about the flu.  Nothing I can do to control it and if it becomes a worldwide epidemic then at least I saw Japan before checking out.

EVERY time I fly I do the same thing...wipe off the seat belt buckle, armrests, tray table, and the dial that opens the air vent. Research shows that the seat belt buckle has most germs. Wash hands, common sense stuff...enjoy your trip

cp3iverson

I disinfect everything in my area like a MF’er before i sit down on a plane.  Im a germaphobe to begin with. 

gotthebottle

that's a good thing....

HawkeyeJam

I've been monitoring coronavirus news and it's something to monitor but at the same time. 100's of music acts tour at any given time. Millions of people travel across the country every day. If they shutdown a PJ tour because of a virus, we got much bigger things to worry about!

HesCalledDyer

F Me In The Brain said:

No, I would be more worried about the flu 

rb173565 said:

... if i was in the u.s.i'd be more concerned about some half wit with an automatic rifle.

These two things.

foodboy

also learn to stop touching your hands to your face,as it doesn't matter how many times you wash them as soon as you touch anything and rub your eyes or mouth and eat something you have now put all those wonderful germs in your system.  any time you shake hands the germs live in the moisture of your palms so keep yor hands off your face. you will cut down catching colds etc by at least  75 percent.  

mattsavard

KN219077 said:

F Me In The Brain said:

No, I would be more worried about the flu 

Exactly. People watch the news too much. Flu is all around you, and way more likely to get you.

Yes, right now Flu has killed more folks, and right now you're absolutely more likely to get it. 

However, COVID-19 is very new and is on it's way. Head of CDC said it will be spread freely here this year, and all they can do is slow it down. 

REG FLU: 26 Million Infected : 250k Hospitalized (1%) - 14k Dead (0.05%)

IF COVID-19 Infects the same 26 Million : 3.9 Million Hospitalized (15%) - 1.3 Million Critical (organ failure) - Half a Million Dead (2%)

Now, maybe 26 Million won't be infected... but if the CDC expects it to be transmitted freely, and it's much more contageous than the regular flu... then there's not much to base that stance on.

There's a chance we will have a vaccine by the time it gets here, or some retroviral drug will help. There's a chance the hospitalization/Critical/Death rate goes down. Lots of reasons to be hopeful. But as it stands right now, to say the Flu is a bigger concern than this virus, big picture, is a very myopic. 

Thankfully it generally takes ~3 weeks to go from public transfer to full on epidemic (quarantines and shutdown/cancellation of most services. Japan has just reached public transfer and they're already telling folks to avoid public events. I suspect within 2-3 weeks they wil have full on quarantine/closures like China. They've already started cancelling or massively reducing events, like the famous Toyko Marathon. 

ABOUT THE SHOWS:

I'm hoping it doesn't hit public transmission here for another month or two, but once it does IMO we're looking at a ticking clock for how long before shows and events start getting cancelled. Many companies are canceling events already. Shows were cancelled during the threat of SARS (which this has already blown past)... there IS precedent, and reason to keep watch and consider backup plans. 

At the shows, If it IS public by then, PLEASE don't go if you have the flu or are symptomatic. We all love PJ and don't want to miss them, but the risk of hospitalizing or even possibly killing fellow jammers sounds crazy to say but that's a risk you'd be exposing other fans to.

At the shows, love some of the suggestions here. Avoid touching eyes/mouth. Avoid touching hand rails and other folks as much as possible. Wash/Sanitize frequently. Some fans will likely wear masks regardless of how bad / not bad... try to be supportive/cool to em. 

Fingers crossed this won't be an issue until after the shows (or at all). Certainly a chance of that! But, it can't hurt to look into contingencies.  

Cheers! 

bootlegger10

Yes, right now in the US, it is not a big deal and should be more worried about the flu.  The question is about a month from now when the US tour starts, 4 months from now when the Euro tour starts, and 7-8 months when the fall US tour starts. 

We all hope it is like the more recent scares that didn't amount to much in the US but only time will tell.  Right now I'm not too concerned but if 1,000 people in the US have it a month from now I'll be at least thinking about it.