Coronavirus How The NFL Is Staying Safe

Football is back! 

With coronavirus cases still at all-time highs in the United States, the NFL has had two weekends of relative coronavirus-free games. That is almost miraculous. No regular season games have been cancelled due to coronavirus outbreaks. Preseason was cancelled which is probably one of the reasons for an unusual number of upsets in week 1. 

Most stadiums did not allow any fans in weeks 1 or 2 of the NFL. One of the few that did, Kansas City, did have an outbreak in a group of 10 fans. However, due to contact tracing and separating fans into 10 person blocks throughout the stadium, the group was easily isolated.  

While surprising, the low numbers were not due to a miracle, but rather human determination and willpower. Sports leagues have proven sports can be played safely. Before the NFL started up again, the UFC had been having fights almost weekly going back to April. A few fights were cancelled due to a fighter or a person in their camp testing positive. No matter how big the fight, the UFC has been diligent about not allowing fights to continue if there is any risk of coronavirus infection.  That stringent approach has kept the UFC fighters, camps, and their families safe.  

The key that has been proven to work is a rigorous testing regimen. In an article on 9/8 from the NFL, it said of 44000 test of 8000 personnel in August, 8 people tested positive. Those 8 were immediately quarantined and no one else was infected. 

According to Pantherswire (the Carolina Panthers' website) no cases of covid had been reported prior to  week 2's games. This is really amazing considering half of the NFL teams and support staff were traveling around the country staying in hotels, taking planes, buses, etc.  

The entertainment industry has reported a few isolated cases, but not many. Why, testing, social distancing, and the use of PPEs.  Every person on set is tested relentlessly. I had to take three covid tests over three days before I was allowed on set this week to film for one day.  

If the major sports leagues and the entertainment industry are whole heartedly buying into widespread testing, wearing PPEs, and social distancing to keep infections at bay, I really don't know why anyone would argue against using these methods in our daily lives. 

Bring on the sports! 

Take care and be safe. 

Posts Tuesday

Coronavirus Religious Gatherings

Early on during the coronavirus, one of the most controversial issues was the banning of church gatherings. Most churches and congregations have abided by the social distancing rules and limits on large gatherings of people. 

I remember watching on Easter Andrea Bocelli singing in an empty cathedral and on the empty streets of Milan during the coronavirus' peak in Italy and how stirring it was - both his singing and the sight of the deserted streets.

Some pastors like Tony Spell in Louisiana have defied the coronavirus orders and have been arrested or fined for holding large church services. 

That being said, I recently went to my first church gathering since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States six months ago. Up to now, our local church had been live streaming the services (except when LA for a couple of weeks allowed them to resume). I am proud to say that my son is on the video ministry team and helped make the streaming of those services possible.

I went to the in-person service because my son had completed his religious education training and was to be confirmed in the Catholic church. This is very big step in a Catholic individual's commitment to their faith. The act of being confirmed has to be done in person and a candidate's entire family usually comes to celebrate the occasion.

I am happy to say that my church abided by all the coronavirus restrictions through careful and thoughtful preparation to keep everyone safe including the priest who is in his early 80's meaning that he was considered high risk of dying if he contracted the illness.

The service was held outside on the church patio beneath a large magnolia tree. The candidate was allowed to bring three guests. Each row  of chairs was separated from the row on either side by 6 feet. Also, there was only one family per row on either side of the aisle. And rather than having all of the confirmation candidates for the church participate in one ceremony as in the past, they were scheduled in 4 different time slots.

When we arrived, our temperatures were checked, we had to sign a paper stating that we did not have any flu-like symptoms, and sanitizer was set out on the registration tables. 

The rest of the service was typical until it came time to wishing your neighbors peace and taking communion. 

At our church, people usually shake hands when giving each other the sign or blessing of peace. Due to coronavirus, there were lots of peace symbols flashed to our neighbors prompting many smiles.

Then came communion. We had to follow a specific path and let the pastor place the bread in your hand. Then a person walked 6 feet away, dropped their mask, ate it, put the mask back on, and then returned to their seat. Wine was not shared. No way to get around coronavirus on that one.

In the end, it was a beautiful ceremony. It was also a lot shorter than previous ceremonies due to the smaller group of candidates, limited family members, and lack of singing. Also family members throughout California were able to watch the ceremony.

Events large and small can be accomplished during our new coronavirus era with proper planning and care.

Take care and be safe.

Posts Tuesdays 

Coronavirus Invincibility Masks?

What a difference a week makes.

A week ago, the CDC said the general public should not wear masks unless they were sick or caring for someone who had the coronavirus. Wearing a mask didn't prevent you from catching the coronavirus, but if you had it, wearing a mask would help you from spreading it to others. The danger of always wearing a mask  was that taking a mask on and off meant that you were touching your face, thereby increasing your chance of becoming infected.

Fast forward one week, now the CDC says people should wear a mask because it is helpful to prevent community transmission of covid-19. The CDC Director Robert Redfield said up to one in four people infected with the virus could be asymptomatic. In other words, you can have no symptoms but still be spreading the disease. Even a cut up t-shirt would be better than nothing. 

During my grocery store run a week ago, few people wore mask. No plastic shields separated checkers  from the customers and while they wore gloves, they did not wear masks. Everyone was very good about giving each other space. The store had fewer customers and they seemed calmer than the previous week when the stay-at-home order was instituted. It seemed that the initial panic had subsided.

Fast forward to yesterday. The majority of people at Ralphs wore masks. Plastic barriers were in place for the masked checkers. There were a lot more people in the grocery store and a I saw the fear creeping back into some people's eyes. But my biggest concern was the social/physical distance gap between people had
decreased. 

In the milk aisle I suddenly found myself ambushed by masked bandits. Four shopping carts driven by six people in masks surrounded me. I said an expletive, left my cart where it was, and waited a safe distance away until the group of strangers broke up. The ambush repeated itself in the bread aisle. 

Even our modern day superheroes, the grocery checker, she leaned forward to ask me a question even though I was not behind her plastic barrier because I was bagging my groceries.

Even scarier were the increased number of individuals in their 70s and 80s shopping in the store since the crisis began. They were wearing masks. Perhaps the masks gave them the confidence to go shopping, but remember a non-medical mask only helps you from spreading it, not getting it.

When I mentioned this to my mother as I dropped off her groceries, she said she had heard that that was the CDC's big worry when they recommended that people should wear masks. People might feel safer with masks and would violate the social distancing and stay-at-home rules.

Everyone, please remember these three rules: 1, stay-at-home unless you have to go out; 2, keep practicing social and physical distancing; and 3, a mask does not make you invincible to the coronavirus so remember rules 1 and 2 . Until this week, the CDC was saying that wearing a mask was more dangerous than not wearing one.

Be safe and be healthy.

Posts: Monday, Thursday, Saturday