Anyone else have a big 'do' in the next month threatened by Covid?

[Echobelly]

Sorry for another C19 thread, but I need somewhere to brain dump. Does anyone else here have a big ‘do’ planned for the next few months that’s now going to be a worry because of Corvid19?

We had DD’s bat mitzvah coming up mid-June and it seems impossible to tell what the situation will be like by then. We’re expecting around 150 guests, but it may be advised (or people may be unwilling) to gather in those numbers, the party venue may be unable to operate and/or or we may find lots of people are ill/self-isolated at that point. TBH, most guests are friends of DH and I and don’t mean so much to DD, so I think she can live with that, and actually I can live with it if we have fewer people, but I do feel a bit sad for her. Luckily not really expecting anyone from abroad, so there isn’t that to worry about.

I don’t know what to tell DD and when, but then my BM was rather curtailed as it was in a recession, my dad’s business had collapsed and in the end it was in the middle of a bit of a flu epidemic and we were missing quite a few of even our small guest list, but I still remember it fondly.

But right now I feel like we have to have a plan B, C, D, E and F.

It wouldn't even occur to me to not attend a party/wedding/whatever because of the virus, in the same way I wouldn't be worrying about contracting flu in June at a bat mitzvah! Surely anyone who's ill will just stay home, as they would with any illness?

People will be gathering in large numbers in their day to day lives – trains, buses, workplaces, schools. Unless everyone's told to stay indoors (unlikely) I wouldn't stress.

The virus stats here are useful.

I'm playing a big role in a wedding in June and have absolutely no intention of not going.

Only the GCSEs and A Levels..

I won't be going to events with lots of people as I have an auto immune condition and am on immune suppressants. My GP has advised me to minimise risk as much as possible.

However June is some time away and lots may change before then. It is a watch and wait situation. I have read some people suspect the virus may die off a bit in warmer temps and come back with a vengeance next winter, no idea how true that is, but we will see what happens. At the moment there is a lot of talk about the Olympics and whether that will go ahead too.

I'm hopeful the virus will slow down by then because flu season is flu season for a reason.

I guess I just hate uncertainty and that it may be hard to tie down numbers.

GCSE's coming up and a close family member's wedding in italy!

I think it's likely that we will see some big events cancelled in the coming weeks and I also think some people will choose to avoid crowds. However, the assumption seems to be that warm weather will bring the end of the virus so hopefully it will be all over by June.

@AtLeastThreeDrinks - I don't think it's likely to be that bad. Although having just talked to DH I am slightly surprised to find he does.

Our synagogue has started instituting bat mitzvahs for girls at 13yo rather than 12, as daughter will be this summer, so I have emailed the synagogue to ask whether the same 'slot' might be free next year (they plan years ahead, so will know). He's said he'd be up for cancelling it right away if the slot next year were free (and DD willing), which I think is a bit much. We have sent save the dates, but not the actual invites yet. I think we should assume it's going ahead - I mean, who knows what state we'll be in next year at this rate! Also I think we'd feel like lemons if it turns out to be basically OK.

It's horrible when things are planned and no one knows what will happen. I'm off to Italy in May. My first trip abroad in 12 years . Got my fingers crossed it'll be ok!

What am I missing here? 40 people out of 66 million have it in the uk, you’re more likely to be killed driving to the event!

Just rsvp’d for a wedding beginning of April so I guess not......for now

What am I missing here? 40 people out of 66 million have it in the uk

Well, two days ago 22 people out of 66 million had it in the UK. If it continues to spread at that rate then quite a lot more people are going to have it.

And I believe that the main concern is that they don't know how all the new cases caught it -- until recently it was easy to identify how all the confirmed cases had contracted the disease and then isolate all their contacts. If we've now got unidentified infected people spreading the disease it's going to be almost impossible to control.

@Halfcharged It's not about the risk of anyone dying, I'm not in the least concerned about that. It's about the risk of the government recommends that places are shut, recommends people don't congregate and therefore people are reluctant to come to things, or that the venue doesn't have enough staff to hold an event. I don't think it's likely to get that bad, but we should have a back up plan JIC.

Fortunately we're fairly 'agile', there would be at most one or two people coming from abroad, and neither has booked yet - almost everyone else is in or near London. Our venue doesn't host events that often (it has a side space it uses for that rather than the main part) and we've paid them a relatively small deposit with them not wanting anything else until the day - we could pull out or postpone without it being a massive loss for them or us, or commute the booking to another date. If we had to rearrange everything with a few weeks' notice, I think we actually could. So I'm inclined to just have a worst case scenario plan that we probably won't have to use.

you'll probably find it will be cancelled anyway, then theres no decision to make

Unless there's a ban, I would not stop going to such things, just booked a holiday for May!

It's important that we slow the spread, to enable the health services to cope and save lives. So I think a lot of things in March and April will be affected. Maybe they will keep next year's date as a backup for you if you need to cancel?

DC competing in International Championships next month in mainland Europe, not sure if the event will happen. Ryanair have just announced they will be cancelling some flights.

Not to mention GCSEs coming up.

@ScrapThatThen - that's my thinking. As I said, we could cancel a few weeks before without much cost to us or any to others. We haven't sent paper invites so I wonder of we should just stick to digital ones so we don't have to invest as much time and money.

I think that you should keep on as if it will happen. See cancelling / postponing it as something that could happen for any number of reasons (your dd could get a vomiting bug the night before, who knows) but your job is to plan and then respond to events as they occur. That is the risk we all take with being alive.

We’re supposed to be holidaying in Salou at the end of the month, flying into Barcelona. It’s looking increasingly unlikely.