Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
Most of the day was sunny, slightly overcast and utterly pleasant for being in my outside office. In Star Wars terms today is a good day - May the force be withyou, and with you.
The weeks during which EM is in school I am back on salads for lunch, which is rather enjoyable. Only now do I realize how much I have missed them, almost like a long-lost friend. Workwise it was just a normal day in the life of COVID. Me at home, lunch while working a late afternoon swim and then a rather surprising turn of events. The weatherperson had forecast rain for the afternoon and evening. Showers started promptly at 16:30 including the years first thunderstorm.
As a result, L. had sent out a message to the Aikidoka stating no class in the park and venue to be announced later. There must have been a flurry of calls between Sensei, the Dojo-Cho and teachers. In the end I could barely believe my eyes when I read weapons class would be held INSIDE the dojo for fully vaccinated people only and with masks on. The force was with us today!
This is a first baby step towards reopening the dojo.
Everyone had to sign a new waiver form and attest they were fully vaccinated, as in had two Moderna or BioNTech or on JNJ shot at least fourteen days ago. To discuss matters of reopening there was also a beer wazza on the matt after class. The verdict is that class will be masked indoors for fully vaccinated people if it rains outside. Otherwise we will continue outside classes, that is until the Cicadas emerge, when class will be inside so as not to kill the creatures by stepping on them.
In two weeks almost all of the regulars will be fully vaccinated and inside practice should be okay applying the three out of two rule. The question then arises how to comply with county guidelines for example on wiping down surfaces, which is not practical for the matt and useless as latest research indicates that surface transmission is negligible. The other question is comfort levels on returning to open hand practice as this is clearly not in line with social distancing guidelines.
However, if only fully vaccinated people are allowed to practice and all wear masks, we comply with the two of three rule (fully vaccinated, masked, socially distanced). Beyond that it is up to each individual what they feel comfortable with. There was consent on requiring proof of vaccination though.
There was also agreement to limit practice to the regulars and due paying members of the Dojo and not yet advertise reopening and practice schedules on the home page. May the force be with us as we return to the Dojo.
Things are returning to normal, step by step and as they do this blog will be winding down. Today saw an increase in new infections across the USA by 42k to bring the total to 33.2 million.
A year into pandemic life many Asian nations are now facing severe outbreaks after having managed the virus spread well when Western nations did not. Spreads in Nepal and Bhutan come from a India, other in South and East Asia are attributed to returning residents and tourists. Either way, things are moving in the wrong direction for all of us as an endemic virus will breed new variants meaning booster shots and ongoing vaccination will become the norm, much like the flu shots.
It is critical to roll out vaccines in all countries. This may mean companies need to give up their IP on the vaccines. Given the US taxpayer has basically funded all of Moderna’s development this is a decision the Biden administration could make, unlike the German company BioNTech, whose research the US did not support. Pfizer may be an American company, but they are only the manufacturer.
There are four occasions when people might consider wearing masks going forward. These include: flu season, crowded indoor gatherings, when traveling and when around people exposed to COVID.
Those all work for me. May the force be withme and mine to keep us safe.