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kerry davies

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Yesterday, the Government’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer invited the UK Events Industry to a conference call to catch up on the latest information and actions taken due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak. Some frantic note taking has been shared, the information and advice is summarised neatly by Jim Winship from the Events Industry Forum. This information should help those in doubt over their own events; it should be shared widely along with the advice to keep informed of further developments.

 

1. Coronavirus is part of a family of virus’, which range from the common cold to SARS and MERS.

2. There is some evidence that it is very rare for those under 25 to get Coronavirus

3. The vast majority of those catching Coronavirus will suffer not more than typical cold symptoms and then get better. Recovery is about a week.

4. A small proportion of people – those with underlying symptoms (diabetics etc) and elderly over 60 - at greater risk. The main risk is severe pneumonia.

5. 98% of those catching Coronavirus will just get better

6. It is very unlikely that there will be any vaccine available for around 18 months.

7. The most likely places for the virus to spread are in the home, at school or in the workplace.

8. It is highly unlikely people will pick up the virus walking in the street or shopping etc.

9. Transmission is generally by close contact.

10. Equally it is less likely they will pick the virus up at outdoor events than on a crowded underground or in a packed pub after a football match.

11. There is currently no plan to ban any events in the UK.

12. Surfaces like stainless steel, wood etc. do not seem to harbour viruses like this – plastic, on the other hand, does.

13. Washing hands is important

14. Generally, the advice is that people should continue to go about their normal lives but if they feel unwell they should stay at home.

15. Government may issue specific advice for vulnerable groups but nothing is planned at the moment.

16. It is unlikely that the UK Government will follow others in banning events, such as football matches, as the risk of catching the virus is low and they are keen for people to continue to live their lives normally.

17. Rather than event cancellation, organisers should perhaps check with attendees to see if they should consider not attending. The Meetings Industry Association has devised a decision tree which can be found at: https://www.mia-uk.org/coronavirus

 

Generally, there was reassurance that businesses should continue to run normally unless things dramatically change.

In case anyone wants a checklist but also the link to further info pertinent to events.

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Thanks, Kerry - this is a very useful antidote to some of the scaremongering going on in parts of the media.

 

I've already had people wondering if their events are going to be affected - for your typical non-professional (e.g. the people organising local gala days, or dance school teachers etc.) it all seems a bit terrifying.

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That is precisely the reason I posted it. Please feel free to cut'n'paste and disseminate as widely as needed.

 

Me and her indoors are perfect "at risk" people being over 60 with COPD and other immuno-deficient issues. Coronavirus doesn't worry us any more than the risk of her indoors getting a cold which often turns into pneumonia. To put things in context, there have been 3,249 fatalities worldwide so far. Over 5,000 people over 65 will die in the UK as a result of falls, mostly in their own home, this winter. 13,000 died in 2008-9 from flu and swine flu, again in just the UK.

 

80% of those who actually catch Covid-19 won't even know they did because it will be so mild. Panic is more serious a danger.

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My mum's poorly in hospital and I've been marooned there for days now - and have spent quite a while with the staff on the night shifts. Their attitude is very much that the risk is actually far lower than what they get exposed to on a daily basis, and as Kerry says, for most people the symptoms are almost impossible to detect - people probably take a few paracetamols for the headache, sniff a bit and get better. The simple everyday precautions they take with hand washing and having their lunch, not the gloves and masks they use with the infectious patients make the biggest impact. The crazy behaviour in local supermarkets is proof of how the thought is enough to worry people. The person in the room next to mum has warnings on the door - infection risk - no entry without permission, no visitors without control - but it works.
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At about 87 confirmed cases that's about one in a million of the population. As many people will be injured in car accidents in a day. However sensible precautions against infection are wise because the virus can be fatal in people with impaired immune systems.
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However sensible precautions against infection are wise because the virus can be fatal in people with impaired immune systems.

Indeed. In a way these precautions are a lot like the use of vaccines in that they will provide herd immunity, and will help prevent the spread of the virus to those people who are less able to fight it off.

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Prolight + Sound show in Frankfurt has been put back 8 weeks. www.prolight-sound.com - Some years I visit Plasa Leeds show in May on the basis that it's soon after the Frankfurt show and therefore anything significant and newly released in Europe is likely to appear in Leeds. Not thinking of any particular product right now but it's making me wonder if Plasa Leeds now becomes a less attractive proposition Edited by Yorkie
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Some years I visit Plasa Leeds show in May on the basis that it's soon after the Frankfurt show and therefore anything significant and newly released in Europe is likely to appear in Leeds.

 

It's a real dilemma for manufacturers - if you've got a product ready to launch, with marketing campaign and materials primed, do you hold off for 8 weeks, or just release it anyway?

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Some years I visit Plasa Leeds show in May on the basis that it's soon after the Frankfurt show and therefore anything significant and newly released in Europe is likely to appear in Leeds.

 

It's a real dilemma for manufacturers - if you've got a product ready to launch, with marketing campaign and materials primed, do you hold off for 8 weeks, or just release it anyway?

 

 

I guess depends how much you want to do and spend. Is a massive press hit better than waiting for a show ?

 

The motorshow we had stuff at. Ready to go and they pulled it. It seems like there is still quite a bit going on, they did a bunch of press junkets and demos, I guess a day or so. But our one was a massive stand, big show off. They needed to do something, doing nothing would have been worse.

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FYI regarding CPR and COVID

 

Resuscitation Council UK Statement on COVID-19 in relation to CPR and resuscitation in first aid and community settings

 

 

 

Because of the heightened awareness of the possibility that the victim may have COVID-19, Resuscitation Council UK offers this advice:

 

· Recognise cardiac arrest by looking for the absence of signs of life and the absence of normal breathing. Do not listen or feel for breathing by placing your ear and cheek close to the patient’s mouth. If you are in any doubt about confirming cardiac arrest, the default position is to start chest compressions until help arrives.

 

· Make sure an ambulance is on its way. If COVID 19 is suspected, tell them when you call 999.

 

· If there is a perceived risk of infection, rescuers should attempt compression only CPR and early defibrillation until the ambulance (or advanced care team) arrives. Put hands together in the middle of the chest and push hard and fast.

 

· Early use of a defibrillator significantly increases the person’s chances of survival and does not increase risk of infection.

 

· If the rescuer has access to personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g. FFP3 face mask, disposable gloves, eye protection), these should be worn.

 

· After performing compression-only CPR, all rescuers should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water; alcohol-based hand gel is a convenient alternative. They should also seek advice from the NHS 111 coronavirus advice service or medical adviser.

 

Paediatric advice

 

We are aware that paediatric cardiac arrest is unlikely to be caused by a cardiac problem and is more likely to be a respiratory one, making ventilations crucial to the child’s chances of survival. However, for those not trained in paediatric resuscitation, the most important thing is to act quickly to ensure the child gets the treatment they need in the critical situation.

 

For out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the importance of calling an ambulance and taking immediate action cannot be stressed highly enough. If a child is not breathing normally and no actions are taken, their heart will stop and full cardiac arrest will occur. Therefore, if there is any doubt about what to do, this statement should be used.

 

It is likely that the child/infant having an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest will be known to you. We accept that doing rescue breaths will increase the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus, either to the rescuer or the child/infant. However, this risk is small compared to the risk of taking no action as this will result in certain cardiac arrest and the death of the child.

 

Further reading:

 

· Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: https://phw.nhs.wales/news/public-health-wales-statement-on-novel-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china/

 

· Coronavirus (Covid-19) updates for Northern Ireland: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/coronavirus\

 

· COVID-19: guidance for health professionals [Public Health England]: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/wuhan-novel-coronavirus

 

· Coronavirus (Covid-19) [Health Protection Scotland]: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/covid-19/

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Las vegas could go bankrupt from this

 

I don't think there's many individuals or companies that will find it easy to survive 3 months of close to zero income.

 

Of course, business is booming for the media outlets that are whipping up most of the panic surrounding the outbreak.

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I guess depends how much you want to do and spend. Is a massive press hit better than waiting for a show ?

 

The motorshow we had stuff at. Ready to go and they pulled it. It seems like there is still quite a bit going on, they did a bunch of press junkets and demos, I guess a day or so. But our one was a massive stand, big show off. They needed to do something, doing nothing would have been worse.

 

I was in Geneva for Motorshow. Our end client had already issued a ban on travel for their staff and executives to Geneva before the show was cancelled and when it was cancelled we had to hold until client decided if they would do some sort of press event either at Palexpo or another venue. In the end we started the get out the next day and I came home 2 weeks early!

 

As someone else said to me recently, corporates are risk assesing potential litigation, not risk assesing potential infection.

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