Graham wrote:
to pass legislation defining Covid-19 and other similar viruses as natural phenomena
Can we at least wait for the chinese lab investigations 
Malibuflyer wrote:
Perhaps in the US but not so under most EU legislations.
Doesn’t matter. If people are afraid of reprecussions, the threat may well be enough.
Peter wrote:
As the old saying goes, they always do the right thing, but only after exploring all the alternatives
I think what comes out more and more is that most of these things are designed for much smaller outbreaks. In the situation we have now, tracing is close to pointless. In the beginning, when there were hundreds of cases instead of thousands, it had merit.
In the end, we have managed to get ourselfs into a situation, where conventional epidemic prevention thinking can no longer work, as there is not much left to prevent. It’s there, it spreads and it is the reckognition and opinion that it can’t be stamped out anymore. Hence, the change in tactics, even though through a forced hand.
Those countries who still have control over the virus are few and far between and they will have to now face a much larger problem: Will they keep their countries clean, which means they have to continue their regimes indefinitly or how will they explain to their population that their whole efforts and sacrifices were in vain due to the “unwashed foreigners” who will flood those places with Covid? So far, Australia and NZ are still trying to keep the virus out. I think if they ever want to open up again, they need to start seriously vaccinating their own people and only re-open once their level is satisfactory. Still, a much better situation as the rest of the world but no less difficult.
Spoiler alert : night clubs reopened here a few weeks ago for full vaxed people and clusters still occur.
The Royal Navy fleet had plenty of covid cases after a break in Cyprus (all crew fully vaxed too).
I agree with MD that GA has been under scutiny since the beginning of covid.
I am disappointed it didn’t go below the radar and didn’t provide much freedom of travel.
One can expect GA to be totally forbidden for any serious crisis.
Jujupilote wrote:
I agree with MD that GA has been under scutiny since the beginning of covid.
I am disappointed it didn’t go below the radar and didn’t provide much freedom of travel.
One can expect GA to be totally forbidden for any serious crisis.
That is true and you are right, totally inappropriate. GA is as safe from an epidemic point of view as travelling by car.
I think originally, the whole idea was to shut down all “non essential” activities without actually thinking too much which ones are really dangerous and which ones are not. The shut down of GA (which actually never happened in some places) was part of this: If we are not allowed to have fun, neither are you. Kindergarten level really. If you remember that in some places it was forbidden even to go for a walk in the open air. The initial idea was to do keep people at home and basta.
Today the situation is very different. We know where people can get infected. We know what activities are safer than others. Consequently measures wherever necessary should be done accordingly.
There never was a reason to shut GA down, but GA is always the first on the block if authorities wish to be seen “doing something”. This has to change. It is ballantly unfair and inappropriate. If anything public transport of any sort is a much higher risk.
The gist of the reports coming in from all over the place does not look good at all. Case numbers are exploding and also hospitalizations are up again. While not unexpected it is frustrating to the extreme, particularly as those hospitalized are mostly unvaccinated people who could have gotten sorted out long ago.
That vaccination does not prevent you from becoming spreaders is well known and has been for some time. The only solution is to get people vaccinated. Otherwise, new restrictions and lockdowns are only a question of time.
GA got affected because it was politically risky to allow those grounded to see planes flying around.
Here in the UK it is completely obvious that this was a huge consideration, totally driving CAA (ordered by DfT) policy in how they phrased their “clarifications”.
Of course the real issue was that some pilots need a “clarification” on whether they are allowed to fly wearing yellow underpants, and if you ask the CAA, by the time it has bounced around the place between all the “Mk1 eyeball is the real man’s primary navigation and collision avoidance sensor” funny duddies, there is bound to be some funny duddy who says "hmmm wearing yellow underpants shows poor judgement of fashion, and we don’t want “our” pilots to be doing that, so NO". So… the CAA “clarification” was that GA cannot fly, and then of course all the University of Upper Warlingham fake MBAs in Risk Management (who run most airports) said “if the CAA says we can’t fly then our insurance is void” so half of GA got shut down. And most of the rest got shut down because, with cafes closed by law, they could not sell their £5 100000 calorie all day breakfast stodge, so why bother to open? We are not a service to GA!
Vaccination works, hospitalisations are very low and deaths are down in the background noise level. One just has to do the obvious and get the “clubbers” and the anti-vaccers vacced, and that will need carrots, because people respond only to carrots.
Peter wrote:
Of course the real issue was that some pilots need a “clarification” on whether they are allowed to fly wearing yellow underpants
Not just Pilots… Do you not remember the reaction of the media to Boris pretty much saying “use common sense”…??
“but I dont understand the rules!!”
“why are you saying masks arent mandatory but do so if you think it appropriate??”
And so it was from the very beginning : The Media and is sensationalism is pretty much responsable for the “Lockdowns” in the UK, as to me it was pretty obvious the UK Govt wanted a Swedish-style affair wrt guidance and rules. Its been one hell of an eye-opener to see how people have reacted and continue to behave over the last year and a half to “laws”, “rules” and “Guidance”.
Regards, SD..
Jujupilote wrote:
I agree with MD that GA has been under scrutiny since the beginning of covid.
That depends on the country… In Sweden, GA has been a complete non-issue with respect to Covid-19. Private flying did go down 2,5% in 2020 compared to 2019, but training flights were up 32%!
Data on long Covid is getting more specific:
About 20% of Covid patients have long term symptoms (longer than 4 weeks after diagnosis) and about 20% of those have detectable organic defects.
So we can expect at least about 2-4% of total Covid patients to already have organic damage!
I’m really wondering when we will be able to retire this thread. I find it quite staggering a year and a half on this is still going. Let’s go flying instead ;-)
I did put the smiley, but it’s a serious question really. By keeping this thread alive, are we too adding to the ’’fear’’ of getting back to normal and exercising our right to fly, live and act like human beings rather than scared little rabbits in the headlight of regulation. I’m sure we can all find 20K reasons to not go out and fly and encourage others to fly. If I take 1 major thing (in the positive sense rather than focusing on the fact our freedom can be taken away in a heartbeat) it is that private aviation is a fantastic tool to travel in a safe, (relatively) comfortable manner and that if you’re willing to put in the effort to and continue to learn new things is a fantastic way to expand your horizons. I have in my entire life not flown as much for business use (and I am finding it has become acceptable in Europe for the first time) as I have today. When I explain to the people I need to meet with I will travel this way, or we can do Zoom, the answer is sure fly your own plane.
I think we should all encourage others as much as we can and profit from these times to get more people into GA. There’s enough Greta’s, green parties, ministry’s of no-fun etc already out there who want to curb our right to fly for us all to be finding excuses not to.
rant over ;-)
Peter wrote:
and then of course all the University of Upper Warlingham fake MBAs in Risk Management (who run most airports) said “if the CAA says we can’t fly then our insurance is void” so half of GA got shut down.
I’ve never known businesses so eager to turn away their customers as UK airfields. It’s the most frustrating thing about flying in the UK, scoring way higher than regulation issues.
Pilots don’t help by feeling the need to always ask for “clarification”.
