2020 BNP Paribas Open...ATP 1000...Indian Wells, CA USA

[don_budge]

As of Saturday at 4:00 PM Eastern:
** There have been 2,499 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US.
** There have been 55 deaths blamed on the coronavirus.
** There have been 36 million cases of seasonal flu.
** There have been 22,000 deaths blamed on seasonal flu.

[stotty]

We have panic here in Lugano: supermarkets sacked, tennis clubs closed, schools closed, sport events canceled, restaurants limit guests, border to Italy closed, 2 meters distance between persons, .... 3 dead to date...

The government over here are taking everything in their stride and going against the grain of all the other affected countries. Let's hope they get it right otherwise it will make Italy's calamity look like a reasonable result.

Business as usual here. I have an extremely busy week and the club was busting at the seams this weekend. There is no race like the Brits for thinking that nothing terrible can possibly happen to them.

[don_budge]

The population of the world is currently in the neighbourhood of 7,700,000,000. There have been 162,687 confirmed cases of the dreaded coronavirus disease of which there have been 6,065 lethal doses. A likely number of actual cases of the virus is in the neighbourhood of ten times the confirmed. Most cases are so mild that it is not necessary to see a doctor. But if that is so then the kill ratio is in the neighbourhood of .0037.

[stotty]

The mortality rate in Italy currently stands at 7.1%. One of the main hospitals stated they were getting 40 cases of pneumonia a day and that they didn't have enough ventilators to go round. Other hospitals are indicating the same. Doctors are having to make decisions about who gets ventilators and who dies. The Spanish and Iranians are reporting deaths of people aged 40 and under with no underlying problems.

People in the US and UK have no idea what's coming. There is no panic here...not really. People are going out to dinner, the cinema, and tennis balls are going backwards and forwards over the net. In Italy it was the same. I know because my wife was there 3 weeks ago. Literally overnight everything changed. People started dying rapidly and hospitals couldn't cope with the influx. Tents were erected and buildings commandeered to house sick patients.

My mother lives in Maine out in the sticks and it's the one time I'm glad she's isolated. For those who live in towns and cities...time to be sensible.

[don_budge]

The Italian government also recently released the percentage of deaths by age group.

90+ years old: 6% of deaths
80 – 89 years old: 42% of deaths
70 – 79 years old: 35% of deaths
60 – 69 years old: 16% of deaths

99% of deaths in Italy were 60 years and older. Average age 81.

[glacierguy]

The university here in St Andrews has told students not to come back after spring break (which is now) and is going online only. The uni sports centre closed yesterday evening. I'd played that afternoon. Will be a while before any of us are back on the courts. Grim. Schools are still open, but half of the boarders have already gone home by choice. I'm expecting we'll be told schools closed after Easter hols.

[stotty]

Things are still rolling along as normal where I am. It will be interesting to see if people start adhering to government advice or whether a crackdown will be needed in 3 weeks time. With a such large portion of the world's population over 65 you can why governments are getting worried. It only takes a spike like they had in Italy and the NHS will be overwhelmed. It's the spiking that's the problem with this disease. Controlling the spike is critical.

[klacr]

We just had our biggest 3 day revenue period in history. 8 professionals on staff teaching on average about 10-12 hours each day and multiple clinic courts. The club is packed and people need to get there tennis in. They are going stir crazy with not being able to do much so might as well play tennis, which is a great social activity but limits close physical contact due to the space of a court. We are reaping the benefits in a historic way. Schools have closed so more kids are out and able to play in the mornings and mid-day. Pros are working around the clock. Best time to make hay is when the sun is out.

I'm also consulting with a few pros and their clubs that are on the brink of closing operations until this ordeal passes. They are worried about how to continue to make income if club closes or how to maintain operations at all without stoking fears and being responsible.
here are a few tips

-We placed a bucket with disinfectant and paper towels on each table by the court with a laminated sheet explaining the steps we are taking. This includes washing tables, chairs before and after all lessons. Having maintenance staff wipe down all tables and chairs at the top of every hour.
-Eliminating all ball hoppers and tennis pick-up tubes. Allowing only the pro to pick-up the balls and if student wishes they may roll the ball (with racquet) to the net for easier collection by the pro.
-Taking away all cups, straws and lids by our drink station and closing drink station down.
-Moving all gym and fitness classes outside by our pool to increase space between members.
-Being open,obvious and transparent to all members about our policies to show we are taking a pro-active approach to the coronavirus. Many times, they just want to be reassured and know we are mindful and aware that we are doing everything in our power to keep them safe and protected.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

[stotty]

We just had our biggest 3 day revenue period in history. 8 professionals on staff teaching on average about 10-12 hours each day and multiple clinic courts. The club is packed and people need to get there tennis in. They are going stir crazy with not being able to do much so might as well play tennis, which is a great social activity but limits close physical contact due to the space of a court. We are reaping the benefits in a historic way. Schools have closed so more kids are out and able to play in the mornings and mid-day. Pros are working around the clock. Best time to make hay is when the sun is out.

I'm also consulting with a few pros and their clubs that are on the brink of closing operations until this ordeal passes. They are worried about how to continue to make income if club closes or how to maintain operations at all without stoking fears and being responsible.
here are a few tips

-We placed a bucket with disinfectant and paper towels on each table by the court with a laminated sheet explaining the steps we are taking. This includes washing tables, chairs before and after all lessons. Having maintenance staff wipe down all tables and chairs at the top of every hour.
-Eliminating all ball hoppers and tennis pick-up tubes. Allowing only the pro to pick-up the balls and if student wishes they may roll the ball (with racquet) to the net for easier collection by the pro.
-Taking away all cups, straws and lids by our drink station and closing drink station down.
-Moving all gym and fitness classes outside by our pool to increase space between members.
-Being open,obvious and transparent to all members about our policies to show we are taking a pro-active approach to the coronavirus. Many times, they just want to be reassured and know we are mindful and aware that we are doing everything in our power to keep them safe and protected.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

Sound advice. Everyone is coaching round the clock at my club in anticipation of a crack down in 3 weeks. I went to the supermarket this morning and found many shelves empty. No rice, pasta, beans of any kind, or toilet rolls to be found.

Like yours, my club was rammed all weekend. Everyone is playing like it's the last game they will ever play. First Trump, then right wing populism, then Brexit, and now Covid-19. These are the strangest times in my living memory. I think we can kiss goodbye to the FO and Wimbledon taking place in 2020.

[glacierguy]

-Eliminating all ball hoppers and tennis pick-up tubes. Allowing only the pro to pick-up the balls and if student wishes they may roll the ball (with racquet) to the net for easier collection by the pro.

That's a really important precaution. Speaking to the coaches here, who were about to take classes with 20 kids, it was the "balls as virus vector" that concerned them.

[klacr]

Panic is the real virus

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

[don_budge]

Every Eighty Years or so there is a Turning in America...this is the Fourth Turning

The Revolutionary War...George Washington
The Civil War and Reconstruction...Abraham Lincoln
The Great Depression/World War II...Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Corona Virus...Donald J. Trump

Panic is the real virus

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Delray Beach
SETS Consulting

Stunning insights into the Corona-panic by Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_AyuhbnPOI&feature=emb_title

"65-year-old malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine sold as Plaquenil cures 100% of patients infected by a COVID-19 coronavirus world’s top scientists say isn’t even all that dangerous."

The President has extraordinary powers now. Let's see what he does. Quietly...against the backdrop of the coronavirus scare the last remaining 13 Russian defendants in the "Mueller Hoax Case" have seen their case dropped. The DOJ dropped the last of the Russian Election Interference Hoax. Does the President use these powers to root out the treason in the gates? Will it be a stealth operation? This President has faced extraordinary opposition. This is what happens when you win an election and find yourself the big dog in the Swamp. He seems to be holding up rather well. Rather heroically I would say.

[don_budge]

Yesterday I posted a variation of the post above but also wrote how the numbers do not add up. They don't. I chickened out and pulled the post. I am posting this as an alternative thought. A "what if". Of course nobody can be certain at this point in time. But the panic does not seem be commensurate with the reality of the situation. We cannot see the virus. The statistics provided have been very, very sketchy. This flies in the face of conventional wisdom. The possibility that the panic in the end will be justified by the horror to follow. But what if it isn't nearly as serious as it has been portrayed? The key operative question will be...why did it happen in the manner that it did? What was the agenda and who's was it?

Confirmed cases below probably refer to cases confirmed by doctors. Without knowing the actual number of cases the numbers are rendered neutered. The number of deaths however are probably pretty good at this point. You can count the bodies and you get a receipt. A death certificate.

Hang in there boys...this one still has traction.

[don_budge]

"As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can."

JULIUS CAESAR

[stotty]

It's full lockdown here in the UK as of today. Every evening we get the death tally. I am now out of work until this is over.