SSi - official statement regarding Covid-19/Coronavirus

I saw something recently saying that Covid-19 is the new GDPR - everyone making a statement about it - so if seeing this makes you roll your eyes, hey, I’m sorry… :wink:

But if we don’t talk about it, it’s just possible that some of you might think we’re not thinking about you, about our responsibilities, about how this impacts on all of us - so even if it makes you roll your eyes, we need to let you know that we’re thinking about you, about our staff, about the whole community.

I’ve told our staff that I’d be very glad to see them self-isolating for the next couple of weeks - I’d rather they were a bit more careful than necessary right now, and able to roll their eyes about it later, than to be wishing later on that they’d responded faster.

I presume that a lot of you are feeling nervous and worried at the moment.

We know how you feel - Beuno has had a nasty bout of bronchitis recently, which clearly raises a few questions about the current state of his immune system - so we’re self-isolating at the moment, and making sure that we’ve got support structures in place for other vulnerable members of our family.

But I don’t want to add to your feelings of worry - it’s clearly important that we all remain calm and think clearly.

This forum is a very special community - and communities are clearly going to be a very important part of how we deal with this challenge.

So please - if you need to talk (in Welsh or English!), if you fancy hopping on a video call for some company, if you need help locally - please treat this community as one of your support networks. There are SSiW learners All Over The World, and they’re some of the kindest and most supportive people any of us could hope to meet - so they will, I’m absolutely certain, want to reach out and help each other.

Bootcamps

The April bootcampers have expressed a general desire to go ahead if possible. We’re talking this through - on the one hand, the numbers aren’t enormous, but on the other hand the continued exposure is a risk factor. The group agreement to wait and see seems reasonable to me - but it’s important that you all know that if we have to postpone, we will bust a gut to schedule the future bootcamp on dates which work for all of you - and if we can’t do that, we’ll create spaces for you on other bootcamps.

June seems more high risk to me - it’s clear that the numbers are very likely to be more challenging by then - but we will of course offer the same arrangements if we need to postpone.

If you decide you can’t come to April or June, we’ll consider you to have a transferring bootcamp ticket and the right to take a place on whichever future bootcamps work for you.

If you decide that you’d like a refund instead, we will of course honour that - we might ask you to let us refund on a gradual basis, if you don’t mind that, because this looks like being a fairly tough time for small businesses - but we will NOT use that as an excuse to delay unreasonably.

It seems reasonable to put a pause on announcing further bootcamps for the time being.

Meet-ups

Obviously, local meet-ups are run by local organisers, and we don’t have the right to tell them what to do.

I do think that it would be a very good idea for meet-ups to run virtually for a while - perhaps helping people who aren’t very familiar with joining video meetings to get used to how to do it - we’d be happy to help point organisers in the direction of video group tools, so please don’t hesitate to ask.

Talking about it

Not everyone agrees on the best way to respond to the current situation. Not everyone is happy with decisions being made by other people.

Here on the forum, we will as ever maintain a friendly and respectful attitude to our different points of view - so please feel free to ask any questions you have, or look for support and friendship, in the certain knowledge that all our staff and all our community members will give you as much support as possible.

No one on this forum will be making negative or personal comments about other people’s decisions. :heart:

If you have any questions, fire away.

If there’s anything else you’d find helpful from us, let us know.

If there’s anything you think we’re missing, let us know.

And take care. We care about you. I personally would be very glad indeed to see you practising as much social distancing as is possible for you.

And if you’re self-isolating, and want company, and bad jokes… we’ll be here. :slight_smile: :heart:

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Clwb Clecs Llanelli will be going ‘virtual’ from next week. Hopefully we will have everything up and running by then. We will put a notice on the fforwm because, of course, anyone of you will be more than welcome to join us.
Stay safe everyone. Look after yourselves and your families whilst ensuring to maintain your humanity in terms of looking after your neighbours too. xxxx

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Not sure if this will work - let me know if not. Here’s a pdf document which you can print out at home. It includes bilingual cards which you can fill in and put through the letterboxes of frail or vulnerable neighbours whom you think may benefit from help during lock-down/isolation periods.

Untitled document (7).pdf (87.9 KB)

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Although I won’t need them I’ve downloaded them (they don’t open in browser though) just to be able to test the thing. It works perfectly @CatrinLliarJones.

And Thank you @aran for your message.

Stay safe all and take care!

Tatjana

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Thanks for the news, Aran. There’s no need for a refund in case of postponement here- I’m happy to wait until whenever is necessary if it happens. Bwtcamp is Bwtcamp, and waiting just means that I’ll have more time to improve!

With borders closing and governments announcing all kinds of restrictions (as well as the well-deserved concern and not so well-deserved paranoia that comes along with it), I’m starting to feel like it might be a good idea for you to hold off on April’s Bwtcamp to see how things develop.

If things carry on as they are, everything will be shut, half of us will have to walk to Tresaith and Bwtcamp will be ten people locked in a hostel. :grinning:

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I’m working as a cleaning lady in a hospital and a doctor’s surgery, I cannot stay at home. At work, I do wear special clothes to protect the patients, the doctors and nurses. Off work, I act as if I was infected and practise social distancing. I go food shopping shortly before the store closes, so that I meet as few people as possible. Be safe everybody … and let’s hope for lots and lots of sunshine :hibiscus::sunny::tulip::sun_with_face::butterfly:

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Thanks Aran, really important. I appreciate it. :heart_eyes:

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Oh, Claudia - that’s such an important job, and you’re dealing with it with such courage and kindness. Thinking of you.

@aliC - gwaith gwych, Ali, fel bob tro. @DaveHedgehog - thank you so much, Mr Hedgehog - yes, events are moving rapidly now, but we will re-group and re-gather :heart: @tatjana - diolch o galon i ti, Tatjana - a diolch o galon i ti hefyd, @annmoore :heart:

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It’s good to hear that more and more people are ready to take all possible precautions, keeping a positive and balanced attitude, and starting now.

I guess you all know that in Italy we have quite an experience on the topic, and we have been in full lockdown for about a week.

So if anyone would like to hear an update from here or have questions about anything in particular - just ask and I’ll report about it.

Stay safe and take care!

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Your updates have been very valuable and have been shared a lot, Gisella - diolch yn fawr iawn i ti :slight_smile: :heart:

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@aran - I think that you and I are about as socially distanced as is possible without being on different planets… stay safe over there. We are effectively self-isolating and bunkering down (and not just to protect our acres of toilet paper :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Our supermarkets have run out of pasta. Can you send us Red Cross parcels? :smile:
Too soon? :worried:
I’ve taken to making our own 2 families’ pasta and will continue till my stock of 00 / durum flour runs out then I shall turn to Spaetzle (an eggy Baden-Wuerttemberger substitute)

Seriously - thinking about you and your compatriots and the rest of the global community. :heart:

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Thanks Gisella, I’ve been following your updates on social media (Nic Dafis has been sharing them). As a consequence, and in combination with reading what the experts were saying early on, my mum (90 with underlying health problems) has been self-isolating for 10 days already.

Everyone in her retirement flats thought she was completely bonkers, and I’m sure some of them still don’t understand the situation.

I’m going to ‘visit’ her today to pass some shopping (if I can get some) through the window - fortunately she lives on the ground floor :joy:

Thanks again Gisella, you’re a lifesaver!

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I’m currently not in work I have a feeling this will not last long people are being recruited for supermarkets and answering calls for nhs. My grandad is not going to the supermarkets but he is going for walks. One of the people in my mums church social group said there is no point for them as they are dying anyway with Liver disease I think they have two weeks left. How are you meant to self isolate if you need carers though?

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Thanks. :heart:
I’m going to answer some more in the food thread!

Glad it helped, @helenlindsay.
If shopping gets heavier, you can always go the Napoelitan way! :wink:
panaro

There was panic and empty pasta shelves from time to time here too. Then people saw there was no lack of food at all and went back to buying in a reasonable way (meaning enough not to go out too often, but not…more than a restaurant monthly stock!)

@nat-3
Many people might find it hard to understand the situation - well hard to imagine such a thing, to be honest!
Other people might not bother changing their habits - for various and more or less valid reasons.
But what can you do?
I think the important thing is to have as many people as possible taking this seriously and acting according to guidelines.

Guidelines for carers are same as nurses and for people living with people currently quarantined at home ( = those tested positive, but showing only mild or no symptoms and people who have been in close contact with people who later tested as positive).
I don’t know where to find a full list in English, but I can look for it if you can’t find one.

Take all precautions if you find a job in a supermarket and even more in nhs!

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Supermarkets are at the hell stage now they have started to restrict items. I’m doing online gym classes from home and taking courses I’m trying my best to stay away from people I live with my mum though. We definitely need to test healthcare workers and supermarket workers and carers. I am taking it seriously but then I saw the effect normal flu had on my dad with a weak immune system not pleasant at all and the winter vomiting bug. I miss swimming but it won’t be forever. Thank you I will take precautions but the nhs one is in a call centre to help with symptoms prob safer than the supermarket.

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The shop I work in is open and they don’t seem to care about the staff in head office but what’s new? I’m wondering if I should walk to work rather than catch a bus. Yesterday I decided not to visit my family, we are all continuing with work but we’re not going to see each other. This was upsetting especially with mothers day and birthdays next month but rather be safe. I’m worried that with schools closing my shop will be busy as people are still shopping. I’ll feel better when it’s all closed. Trying to carry on with normal activities like dysgu cymraeg during this crazy time and all this learning and online chats will definitely help me. Stay safe all

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So sorry they’re still open and not looking after you properly - I hope we’re going to see more government leadership and financial support for workers who need to stay home but can’t work remotely…

Yeah, it’s a tough old time. Hang on in there. And I hope very much that the forum and the whole dysgu Cymraeg thing will be a valuable distraction :heart:

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Diolch. I’m determined to carry on.

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