GA in a Pandemic Environment.
 

I’m wondering about the impact of a local Coronavirus pandemic on GA and private flight. Flight training schools may be problematic if they involve classroom groups, however one on one training may be OK.

Private flight may also be preferable to RPT if again you want to avoid groups.

Apart from that, I’m out of ideas. I might know more after a briefing on Friday.

As I don't get too worried about the millions of people who have the flu or a cold at any given moment, I'm not inclined towards adding this to the list of things to unnecessarily worry about.

Agreed! The media are at their worst with an issue such as this.

If you could report back to us AS SOON as you hear ANYTHING to add to the hype and hysteria, that’d be great.

I’ve introduced a ‘no tongue kissing’ rule to my flights. Has worked so far.

Here’s a picture of my missus and me after a recent cruise.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....441f86fe1.jpeg

Hmmmmmmmmmm

Sunfish, Beware all those germs to be had using someone else's headset!

(I know we're all rooned anyway as my local supermarket has run out of toilet paper. Haven't seen that since the Y2K virus.)

I'm re-reading my copy of 'The Decameron' and commend it to Sunfish.

Thank goodness for Pprune!:)

What did you expect????

Dont know about other localities but in FnQ the "summer flu" is about. Is it the Sino-sympathy strain?
Knocked flat for two days and still havent fully recovered...now in the 4th week. Had a flu jab last year...for what is worth ??.
It will pass but gives food for thought tho...thousands in Oz go kaput every year with "the flu" And its a colossal no. in the US where maybe many people cant afford the health costs.
Lots of clever people beavering away for a vaccine. Compared with the post WW1 epidemic this has just moved the scale needle, thus far
Global media has a lot to answer for.

The real pandemic is the grubby media spreading this so called disease faster than the bug itself!
Our economy is plummeting, supermarket shelves are being emptied, we truly live in a sad reactionary society with it now spreading to PPRune!

GA in a Pandemic Environment.
 

Yes definitely, and hold until it's over or you run out of fuel (my bolding because this is important)

I think the biggest impact ion GA s that when economy would dive into the abyss we'll have no money for flying anymore.

&

People are clearing the supermarket shelves of toilet paper here in Melbourne - are they literally sh!tting themself over the media hype??

Better get the Governments to stop mentioning it then and get them to stop taking strong action. Can't help but think a few here have their heads buried in the sand. How many people caught the virus on that ship and how many died?

The guy at my local Woolies said they got 15 pallets of Toilet Paper delivered to the store. Had large congregations of people awaiting outside for it to come out and all sold within minutes. Madness.

Hush guys.... no need to make it worse than it already is.

We will all get it at some point, just like any other flu. And I bet mothers who are against shots for their kids are "hunting" it for them now.

No need to panic, but at the same time..........
 

It seems we always go from one extreme to another, we get those that say 'it's just another flu', while others scream Henny Penny like.

Death rate

The death rate from seasonal flu is typically around 0.1% in the U.S., according to The New York Times.

The death rate for COVID-19 appears to be higher than that of the flu.

In the study published Feb. 18 in the China CDC Weekly, researchers found a death rate from COVID-19 to be around 2.3% in mainland China. Another study of about 1,100 hospitalized patients in China, published Feb. 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the overall death rate was slightly lower, around 1.4%.

Still, the death rate for COVID-19 appears to vary by location and an individual's age, among other factors. For instance, in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, the death rate reached 2.9%; in other provinces of China, that rate was just 0.4%, according to the China CDC Weekly study. In addition, older adults have been hit the hardest. The death rate soars to 14.8% in those 80 and older; among those ages 70 to 79, the COVID-19 death rate in China seems to be about 8%; it’s 3.6% for those ages 60 to 69; 1.3% for 50 to 59; 0.4% for the age group 40 to 49; and just 0.2% for people ages 10 to 39. No deaths in children under 9 have been reported.

https://www.livescience.com/new-coro...-with-flu.html

So influenza's mortality is 0.1% and according to the NEJofM (see above) Covid-19 appears to be 1.4%, somewhat high but that's for the whole of China. I did read the other day that's it's 0.7% outside of Wuhan, BUT that's still 7 times that of the seasonal flu! And the problem isn't necessarily the mortality rate, Covid-19 is supposedly more infectious (2-3 compared to 1.3) and critical cases (4.7%) require ICU and a ventilator. So if it got going it could overwhelm the health system, which is what I understand all the concern is about as the mortality rate would then go through the roof as we lose the ability to deal with the numbers, which is what their aim is, slow the infection rate so they can handle the numbers over a greater period of time.

The world isn't going to stop turning, but the idea that there's nothing to see here is just as idiotic.

will have to cancel the toilet roll cutting competition now, dammit!

So people can't work, therefore no wages & can't afford to fly, flying clubs go bust, lots of unused airspace, airfields add "International (or London) to their name & make applications to expand their ATZ into controlled airspace, the Campaign Against Aviation has no option but to accept the argument (extra income), win win for more airspace grabs! :O :ugh:

I hesitate to compare to flu because few people get the flu, relative to the potential reach of CVid 19, thanks to the flu vaccine.
We have 12-18 mos to wait for vaccine here.

Simulation run by WHO indicate 65 million dead which at 2% mortality is nearly 50% rate of infection. 3.25 billion people infected. That’s ginormous.
20% require hospitalization. There isn’t capacity for that.

People don't realise if it gets so bad that you run out of food you wont need toilet paper,maybe they can eat it lol

Starfish, what is your point?

Fools wasting their cash on toilet paper.

I can solve the issue for $29.

https://www.myhomeware.com.au/round-...iABEgLplPD_BwE

The toilets in Japan (hotel anyway) had that built in with a HEATED seat, luxury!

What you describe was the state of GA in Australia BEFORE any health scare :8

Imagine this taboo breaker: Your home has a bathroom with toilet and shower but no toilet paper. What would stop you washing your derriere with soap and warm water, in your shower, after a 'number two'?
(And for the unimaginative, wash your hands and the rest of you too.)

Well I am calling BS on the whole thing. And I ain’t arguing about it either. Just my take. Time will tell and we shall see.

Simulation run by WHO indicate 65 million dead which at 2% mortality is nearly 50% rate of infection. 3.25 billion people infected. That’s ginormous.
20% require hospitalization. There isn’t capacity for that.

You've posted that elsewhere...could you provide a link for it (the simulation) please.

Given the toilet paper panic buying, I’ve found a new use for ERSA and AIP. The part 61 licence is there for an emergency as well.

Aviation is already suffering badly.

- Emails floating around in Australian airlines about pilots taking unpaid leave and or early retirement
- Significantly less passenger loads and routes being cut temporarily
- Tourism down 70% on the Great Ocean Road - there's a lot of airfields from the Bellarine Peninsula across to the 12 Apostles
- Even the float plane chap at Williamstown has noticed a significant decline and it's not just Chinese tourists

Back to sustainable levels then, good.

After hearing the news, I went down to my local supermarket to see it for myself.

A non-carriers guide to COVID-19 should be published and have the words 'DON'T PANIC' inscribed in large, friendly letters on the cover.

Last Sunday I stopped for fuel at a busy servo and noticed two Chinese males loitering. As I was pumping gas one of them came up to me and the conversation went something like this:
Excuse me can I ask question?
Wait a minute, I need to focus on the meter....ok, what do you want?
Hello, I am student from China, can I ask is Holden car good? I want to buy Holden.
Well they've just gone out of business. What do you need one for?
Can I show you picture on my phone?
Ok.
Is Holden Captiva good car? (shows me pictures).
Probably ok but the resale will be bad now that Holden is out of business.
I notice you have Holden, is it good car?
It's 20 years old!
Really? Looks very good.
Where are you studying?
I am student at Monash.
What are you studying?
IT.
You don't need study IT.

So I went to pay at the counter and deliberately left the car unlocked just to see what transpires. At the counter I say to the pay clerk "You got some interesting new friends out there." He laughed and said "Yeah, they've been there a while." I replied "I bet you've seen it all in this job." and he laughed.

On the way back to my car I notice the person I was talking to now loitering around other cars. I waved him good bye and left.

It's almost been a week and I'm still waiting for the Corona virus to kick in.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....21a93bf8e7.png

Oh what a feeling!

My mates and I have planned a moto ride down there this coming long weekend. I don't usually bother going near it with all the traffic and bad drivers.

Seems like the virus has killed off Flybe ..https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...collapsed.html

how many other financially fragile airlines will follow. Know any in these parts,, Virgin.. ?

Government mulling travel bans from Italy. By the time I plan to travel to Europe, July, I’m guessing that the decision will be made for me.

If the virus is circulating in Australia by then, travel bans won’t make any sense. If it’s as serious as some researchers suggest, tourism will be pointless and life threatening.......or it could all be sorted and gone like snow on a summers day.

There is much BS circulating on the internet about the virus. Starting with “it’s no worse than flu”.

We agree on something...

But it hurts trying to get the glass out me arse... damn paperless cockpit...

Lucky I’ve got the backup ipad, hang on.......

Anyone remember old army ration packs and the old joke about how to use the sheets of toilet paper it contained?

I suspect that they are waiting for the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix to happen next week BEFORE we put bans on Italy.
Can't have a GP without Ferrari, can we?

It appears they are going to fly in Chinese university students. The mighty dollar rules over public health. Disgraceful if this happens but from the comment quoted below it sure looks like it is.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/comp....html#comments

from one of the comments ...

Sydney Uni is already sending letters to students to vacant accommodation at Abercrombie Street so that international student arrivals can be quarantined there.