Coronavirus: could the 2020 AFL season be called off?

[Sedat]

US has banned European travel into the US for at least 30 days. After Trump's speech, our market is free falling. Interesting times.

Yep. International festivals and sporting events are being cancelled (or closed off from fans) left, right and centre with one glaring exception.

[bornadog]

Sorry, but this fails the sniff test and goes completely against everything that is taking place both in Australia and globally with regard to large gathering sporting and cultural events. Get ready for a sharp rise in cass in Melbourne next week that were "unprecented" and "unforeseen" lol

Vic State Govt dropped the ball because this is a money spinner for the state and we are already bursting with massive debt on large infrastructure projects that are spiralling way over budget. The Vic State Govt has been an outlier in Australia by actually put self-interest ahead of the general public's well-being, which no other state and territory govt has done, nor has the federal govt. The GP is a massive international event frequented by huge numbers of tourists from Europe and especially Italy, which happens to be completely in lockdown. It is madness that we are allowing this event to run without any restrictions.

Stopping the F1 will stop jack shit. You have to stop everything if that is the case. No sports, no theatre, no one to go on public transport, no flights in and out, a shut down like China.

This is an Australian issue, not Victorian.

US has banned European travel into the US for at least 30 days. After Trump's speech, our market is free falling. Interesting times.

Exactly what I said.

[craigsahibee]

People need to keep things in perspective & not get hysterical. Like others have said do your own research & don't rely on the front page of the Herald Sun to keep you informed. I'm not sure the ABC is a great source either when people are questioning the information coming from our politicians & the ABC is funded by the same people. Agree we the public are kept in the dark about the full story but that goes with most things these days anyway.
The hysteria out there its like this virus is like a zombie virus & everyone that gets it is toast. Reality is its a mild version of the flu & if you're not immunocompromised then you have no reason to panic.
I'm not worried about the virus itself but rather what comes with it. If it effects the football season particularly our games i'll be devastated.

Anfo27. Your rational level of thinking has no place on the internet.

[jeemak]

I have been trying to prepare my family for a much sooner than expected lockdown. That's not the same as panicking, rather, just being prepared for possible segregation of family members and an understanding that a small amount of preparation now goes a long way (i.e. put a bit of stuff in the freezer so you're not over-reliant on food being delivered, making sure you have a couple of weeks plus a bit more of necessary items).

This culminated in telling my aunt, who is the major carer for my grandmother (90+), that I don't think it's a good idea we go to the football round one together (i.e. she not go, with me waiting and seeing how things pan out).

My mother said she'll cross the preparation bridge when she comes to it, you know, what else can she do? I suggested to avoid trying to cross the bridge at the same time everyone else is. Woofers, if you haven't done a small amount of preparation work, I'd get onto it because things are going to move pretty quickly from here.

Sedat is right, and the VIC government after allowing the GP to go ahead will realise the mistake and over-respond. People are going to start behaving like it's Mad Max as a result. Dan Andrews is probably thankful right now that the next state election is some time away and that Victorians will most likely forget.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Yikes. Expect the worse.

Unprecedented territory now.

[Sedat]

Stopping the F1 will stop jack shit. You have to stop everything if that is the case. No sports, no theatre, no one to go on public transport, no flights in and out, a shut down like China.

This is an Australian issue, not Victorian.

The GP is a Victorian issue. Hosting it will have national ramificarions but it falls squarly on the Vic State Govt for allowing it to proceed.

There also seems to be some inconsistency to your commentary around Coronavirus. You are advocaring cancelling and stopping everything in order to more effectively combat the spread of the virus but seemingly have no issue with a major international event like the GP going ahead, saying it will make "jack shit" difference. I guess all AFL clubs who have gone into lockdown and also the Bulldogs restricting the general public from attending last night's season launch were also waste of time decisions that will make "jack shit" diference?

[jeemak]

Stopping the F1 will stop jack shit. You have to stop everything if that is the case. No sports, no theatre, no one to go on public transport, no flights in and out, a shut down like China.

This is an Australian issue, not Victorian.



Exactly what I said.

Banning it now won't do much because most attendees are already here. It should have been banned before the tourists started arriving but it's probably too late.

[Rocket Science]

A fortnight ago Italy, Iran, Taiwan & Hong Kong all had officially reported cases of less than a hundred.

Two of those countries quickly implemented strict social distancing measures, and two didn't. Despite being more densely populated Taiwan & Hong Kong have seen a zero-to-negligible rise in cases since, unlike Italy & Iran.

This whole thing's proving a morbidly fascinating test case for 'sensible' governance. We don't want to go spooking the markets now.

[Sedat]

Banning it now won't do much because most attendees are already here. It should have been banned before the tourists started arriving but it's probably too late.

Yep. Horse bolted on that one 2-3 weeks ago, around the same time Bahrain showed leadership and closed off the general public from their GP over a month in advance of the event.

I'm also fully expecting the over-correction to take place in Victoria from next week as well, when there will be an announcement of "unprecedented" and "unforeseen" increase in cases.

[Sedat]

A fortnight ago Italy, Iran, Taiwan & Hong Kong all had officially reported cases of less than a hundred.

Two of those countries quickly implemented strict social distancing measures, and two didn't. Despite being more densely populated Taiwan & Hong Kong have seen a zero-to-negligible rise in cases since, unlike Italy & Iran.

This whole thing's proving a morbidly fascinating test case for 'sensible' governance. We don't want to go spooking the markets now.

Yep. It has been very interesting seeing how some countries and govts have been managing this issue. I reckon Australia did a great job federally getting on the front foot and banning all travel to and from China and Korea a good 3-4 weeks before the rest of the world woke up. That is why we currently have barely over 100 cases nationally. Other state and territory Govts have also been terrific in implementing measures to control the spread. Except for one notable example.

[bornadog]

Banning it now won't do much because most attendees are already here. It should have been banned before the tourists started arriving but it's probably too late.

You and Sedat are not getting my point, it's not just about the F1. You want to be serious about shutting off from the rest of the world then you have to do it properly, like I outlined above - everything shuts down.

Again, this is not a Victorian issue, this is a National issue and leadership must come from LNP (who have no leadership skills so we are *!*!*!*!ed).

[bornadog]

Yep. It has been very interesting seeing how some countries and govts have been managing this issue. I reckon Australia did a great job federally getting on the front foot and banning all travel to and from China and Korea a good 3-4 weeks before the rest of the world woke up. That is why we currently have barely over 100 cases nationally. Other state and territory Govts have also been terrific in implementing measures to control the spread. Except for one notable example.

Fed Gov only banned travel to Italy yesterday after how many have been infected and died, yeah great leadership.

Should be banning flights from and to all of Europe - there are no borders there.

[bornadog]

The club just called me and said the inner sanctum experience at AFLW this Sunday is called off, but match will go ahead.

[bornadog]

Confirmed CoronaVirus exposure site Level 2, MCC Members at Sunday night's T20 World Cup Final.

[Sedat]

Again, this is not a Victorian issue, this is a National issue and leadership must come from LNP (who have no leadership skills so we are *!*!*!*!ed).

Not quite sure you understand the concepts of leadership and accountability. China was ths source of the outbreak and Australia acted swiftly and many weeks ahead of the rest of the world in banning travel to and from that country. That is why we have barely over 100 cases and 3 fatalities nationally as of now.

This isn't about partisan political point scoring, it is about judging actions, and I suspect the actions of the Vic State Govt in allowing the GP to proceed with full crowd gatherings and overseas visitors will be judged accordingly.

I note the NBA has just suspended their season, effective innediately. I guess they also overreacted because there is "jack shit" chance of the virus spreading?