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MX-5 NEWS

17/03/20 - COVID-19

We are living in interesting times! As you’d appreciate, your Club has no formal manual to reference in relation to the steps we should take with respect to COVID-19. Should we cancel all of our events until further notice?

There is a high degree of awareness in the community surrounding the need to minimise the risk of spreading the Corona Virus. Apart from staying away from people who are coughing and sneezing, frequently washing your hands with soap and water (or using hand sanitiser) for at least 20 seconds, and avoiding touching one’s face, one key step is ‘Social Distancing’. This refers to reducing normal physical and social interaction in order to slow the spread of a pandemic. Such measures may either be prescribed by government (such as the current limit on public gatherings over 500 people) or voluntarily adopted by individuals or organisations.

As our Members tend to be older than the median age they are likely to be more severely affected by the virus. In addition most of us have elderly parents who are even more likely to be severely affected. Thus Social Distancing is something we need to take seriously as a Club.

Currently, we are all being flooded with information about the virus on an hourly basis, which illustrates the concern and hazards that the virus is presenting to the community. With so much information being made available, not all of it credible, we believe that you should seek the authoritative information that is available through the Australian and Western Australian government information channels. You can access information provided by the Australian Government Health Department here, this website is updated daily around 11am, and by the WA Government here, updated daily around 8:30am.

Your Committee decided to proceed on the basis that our Members expect us to follow the level of social distancing that government recommends and continue operating our car Club within those guidelines. In our case Club Cruises or Club Motorsport events attracts less than 100 people with most of the time spent in the car, well below the current guideline of 500 people limit for static events, so we see no need to cancel all events at this time. Events that focus essentially on socialising, such as the M-Eggs–Five Good Friday Eggstravaganza, will be cancelled. Committee meetings will no longer open to non-committee members and may be held on Skype.

We are taking simple steps to allow Members to practice good hand hygiene (regroups at locations with water taps where practicable) and going forward we will be ending runs at venues with outdoor seating in order to enable Members to avoid confined spaces.

We encourage Members to keep at least one and a half metre distance from others, bring their own pump hand soap and practise personal infection control measures including frequent washing of hands with soap or hand sanitisers for a minimum of twenty seconds, minimising physical contact (no hand shaking or face to face contact). Sneezing into tissues and disposing of the tissues safely, or alternatively, sneezing into the crook of your elbow. No sharing of food or drink.

As winter is approaching I request Members bring their own umbrella so that if it rains at the start point, a regroup point or at the end of a cruise we don't end up all huddling under the one umbrella, or under small sheltered areas and maintain one and a half metre distance from others.

Naturally, your health and well being is the Club’s highest priority. Your Committee believes that it is appropriate that Members make decisions based upon their personal circumstances and health, whilst being guided by the recommendations of health authorities in order to minimise the risk of contracting the virus and transferring the virus to family Members, friends and any other people you may come into contact with. I remind Members that they do not have to attend events, you make the decision to do so, and you may opt out of events if you believe that the risk of attending our events is too high for your particular circumstances. You should also feel free to only attend the cruise part of an event whilst skipping the end of cruise breakfast, lunch or dinner if you wish to reduce your exposure at those food venues.

We ask that Members respect each other’s needs and anxieties through the pandemic, and we respectfully request that anyone who is feeling ill, or has been in contact with someone feeling ill in the recent past please excuse themselves from attending any of the Club gatherings.

As you’d appreciate, this is a moving jigsaw, with each day providing additional strategies to minimise the risk of spreading this virus. The Committee will keep you informed when we update our response.

So the message is clear – take responsibility for your health and well being, and if you have any doubts as to your welfare, then take steps to minimise your interaction with fellow Club Members and others in the community.

Lastly, to avoid sharing small confined spaces, I encourage you to drive with the roof down where possible.