Ireland now looks forward to easing out the restrictions it had put due to COVID-19. However, some clarity is yet to be given regarding how people can return to sailing. Following what New Zealand is doing as it gets ready to return to water, be ushering Ireland to use the ‘bubble’ concept which allows additional close-quarter activity in the field of sports that includes sailing.
However, the only thing which is certain in this difficult time is change. How the world appeared in the month of March is going to be quite different from what it is going to appear in the month of May or June. No doubt, there are going to be further changes.
The media is filled with conjecture as to what the new normal is going to appear like. Regions and countries which are leading away from the restrictions of lockdown are being watched carefully – with the only guys out on the water as normal right now being the Turkish, with yacht charters in Turkey taking place as normal. People look forward to finding out the measures they are taking and the success or failure that comes with it. Australia and New Zealand’s isolation has offered them the first crack from the remaining countries in the world. It is highly likely that the 4 level alert plan of New Zealand informed several aspects of the 5 phase roadmap of Ireland.
According to the statistics of 4th May, New Zealand doesn’t have any recorded cases. It means that the move from the present level 3 to 2 might appear as soon as 11th May. This will allow boating that wasn’t permitted under the level 3 plan of New Zealand. The model of NZ Bubble is something that the department of international health’s Royal College of Surgeons’ Professor Sam McConkey said has proved to be useful. According to him, sports such as single-handed sailing can soon return to the water.
The concept bubble is now being widely practiced but in Ireland it is confined to the household bubble. However, as Australia and New Zealand are emerging from strict protocols of lockdown, they are thinking of joining or extension of bubbles for including extensive family groups. New Zealand and Australia have started thinking about the trans-Tasman bubble for allowing travel to begin again in between the two countries.
Along with the bubble concept, it is also necessary to follow up with testing and contact tracing for permitting the close-quarter activity in all places of contact sports. One prospective scenario in this difficult time of corona virus in the field of sports can be one bubble of people who are free from this corona virus infection can play with another bubble of participants who are free from COVID-19.
When it comes to sailing, if people are able to ensure that the crewmates are free from COVID-19 then the activity might resume. However, this might appear to be far-fetched at present, the constant changes in the environment might permit this in time to come when the other countries like New Zealand are free from the grasp of this deadly disease.