Grand National and Corona?

[Scot Minesinger]

Grand National is coming up in June.  More than half the likely attendees are very vulnerable to the Corona-virus.  A cure is probably a year away or so.  large public gatherings are certainly discouraged.  What is the deal?  Is the GN going to proceed?

[Bentley]

Judging by the way other large events are being cancelled or postponed, it's extremely likely that the GN will be cancelled. Did you have to pay your entry fee already? If I were attending, I would be asking the club if they will refund the entry fee in the event of a cancellation. For those who are planning to transport their cars, find out the cancellation policy of the carrier before you pay them anything.

[GBrown #8092]

As of the moment, we are planning to proceed with the event. The GN is in June, rather than April so we have some time to make some decisions. Obviously, as the situation develops that could change.

This disease is a big deal. However,  the lack of consistent reliable information has been problematic.
I'd give you my opinion, but it carries even less authority.

We are monitoring the situation. As of now, we plan to proceed. If anything changes in the intervening time, I promise, I'll let you know.

Stay tuned.

Glenn Brown
President

[bcroe]

I do not see the world being put on hold for anything like a year, and
a cure seems extremely remote.  It looks to this  uneducated observer
that it is just going to blow thru and take out our least healthy, no matter
what we think we can do.  People at my advanced age seem to be at
high risk, though I personally have shown a complete immunity to flu
for 6 decades.    Bruce Roe

[chrisntam]

Not that my opinion matters, but I agree with what Glen said.  Yes there are an ess load of things being cancelled, sports, concerts, woodworking shows, parades and the like.

We'll know more as June draws closer.  Time is on our side to make that decision.  For now, wash your hands, don't touch your face (hard not to do), no hand shakes (hard not to do), cover coughs/sneezes, lose money in the stock market, etc.

I would hate to see the GN cancelled (it's in my geographic neighborhood), but weighing risks vs. rewards, that will have to be decided.

I'd like to see this virus stuff over in 2 to 4 weeks.

Not that my opinion matters...

[bcroe]

My interest in cars has been largely driven by the need to travel to
dances in 2 countries.  We learned to sneeze into our sleeve long
ago, but I expect dances will be cancelled for a while.  Bruce Roe

[cadillacmike68]

Not that my opinion matters, but I agree with what Glen said.  Yes there are an ess load of things being cancelled, sports, concerts, woodworking shows, parades and the like.

We'll know more as June draws closer.  Time is on our side to make that decision.  For now, wash your hands, don't touch your face (hard not to do), no hand shakes (hard not to do), cover coughs/sneezes, lose money in the stock market, etc.

I would hate to see the GN cancelled (it's in my geographic neighborhood), but weighing risks vs. rewards, that will have to be decided.

I'd like to see this virus stuff over in 2 to 4 weeks.

Not that my opinion matters...

Only if you have to sell.

[wrench]

Yeah, without offering my opinion about it, one suggestion would be to watch the local authorities in Kansas and the locale of the venue.

What is happening locally here (upstate NY) is that gatherings and venues of 300 people or more have been cancelled due to a state of emergency declaration to that effect.

So hopefully the ‘all clear’ will be announced before then, at least keep an eye on the local government or venue corporate actions that may take the decision out of the hands of club leadership.

[Cape Cod Fleetwood]

This politically induced media hysteria in America will be over in a month or so, no reason the GN can't go on.

Too late for me, they cancelled World Of Wheels in Boston next week and I'm devastated.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Back during the H1N1 virus "scare" of 2009/2010, it took 1,000 deaths - not cases - before a state of emergency was declared and the whole event came and went with barely a blip and a body count of over 10,000 by the time it was all over. As of today there have been less than 50 deaths in the US the sky is falling- more than twice that amount die in car accidents daily yet had anyone modified their driving habits?

The media hype has been grossly irresponsible in my view and is being done for purposes I'll not go into. 

[cadillacmike68]

I'm still blaming the chi-coms - and the absolute morons in the media. How did that go again?:

It's all a Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

[hornetball]

I agree with Eric 100%.  You would think we were dealing with the Black Death.  A toilet paper run?  Seriously people!  Peak wussification.

Great time to convert IRAs from traditional to Roth if you still have a number of years before retirement.

[TJ Hopland]

Doesn't the move into spring and warmer weather typically greatly reduce the spread and severity of similar viruses?   Things should in theory kinda plateau for the USA?  It would be as bad as they are making it out to be if it hit a few months earlier but really it seems like the timing may be ideal for the USA because the weather should naturally slow it down and they will have the summer to work on an immunization for next season.

I'm not saying its something that should be ignored but the panic and ripple effect from closings looks like its going to cause a lot more damage than the actual virus.   Everyone in most of the world can't just stay home for a month.     

[WTL]

China doesnt really care about individual human life, but even they shut down.  Im seriously concerned that many older people arent taking this as the grave moment it is.  Italy gets the flu just like we do - yet they are overwhelmed and shut down.  Common sense points to this actually being a disaster, even if you dont trust the media.  Just look abroad and see how they are responding or being overwhelmed. 

[WTL]

TJ

I hope the move into spring affects transmission of the virus, but there is no gaurantee.  It did not hamper MERS.

Best case scenario is we get a little better treating it and flatten the curve now so all the cases dont happen at once.  To do that, we need to isolate.  Im going to buff the car.  Wont be so bad.

[Scot Minesinger]

I agree with Eric, Laurie, and probably others that this is way overblown.  OK, I wrote my opinion that no one cares about.  Being very healthy and unlikely to die if infected, it is easy to not take it too seriously.  I work at home, so my work environment is unchanged.  Plus I'm now the oldest in my family and so not in contact with older more vulnerable population.

My sister is a nurse and knows a nurse in Italy.  The difference she said between here and Italy is that everyone greets each other with kisses (as opposed to hand shakes in America), there is a much higher smoking rate (lung issues), and with socialized medicine they do devote medical resources to the most likely to survive, so the most people return to health for the lowest investment in resources - higher death rate.

Again, take a look at the GN pictures from years past (and use your memory too), lots of people attending are likely to really suffer if infected.  Even one bad infection would be very bad if it could have been prevented. 

Fortunately I do not have to sell investments, but it still stinks that they have lost so much value so quickly.

Reason, I brought this up is that although hotel reservations were made last year, still have not registered for the event or bought airline tickets yet.  Time is drawing near and need to think about these things.  Only concern with attending is that my flight or means of getting back home may be eliminated and running my own small business from home - cannot risk the financial hit of being kept away.

Given the arrangements that need to be made in order to attend the event, probably an answer is due soon - what is reasonable -middle of April?

Nevertheless, I am being very careful, washing hands, avoiding public places, and etc.

[Tpicks55]

I agree with most on this subject.  The news media has blown this all out of proportion. For what?  ratings. 

[Lexi]

Yes, the morons in the media and the Communist Chinese (who delayed reporting this new disease by at least a month, for example), are doing their usual B.S. Don't get me going on the @#$%*&! media. Basically, it has yet to be determined whether there will be a seasonal aspect to this disease, so we don't know what the summer will bring. Because it is a "new" disease, at least to humans, there is still much to learn, (and experts say no one is immune to it). Unfortunately RNA viruses are known to mutate rapidly, thus complicating our abilities to respond effectively (both from a natural immune perspective and from a medical one). Yes the reported global rates are still low, but the current fatality rate is much higher than say regular flu. So probably best to exercise caution and continue to monitor the situation, which could change suddenly. We are still on a learning curve with this one. Clay/Lexi

[TJ Hopland]

Is there any money to be saved by cancelling the GN now?    I would think most of the deposits and stuff are already in.  Or are there some deadlines coming up that need more money?

[chrisntam]

snip...
Only concern with attending is that my flight or means of getting back home may be eliminated and running my own small business from home - cannot risk the financial hit of being kept away.
...snip

DC to KC is 1000 miles, a two day trip each way.  Hurry up and retire so you can leisurely make the drive, overnighting in Indianapolis.