I'm afraid that I have pretty much stopped watching the MSM update on the pandemic.However I do grab snippets here & there. So I am making some assumptions here.
Wasn't the idea of the lockdown to stop the NHS become overwhelmed? And of course slowdown the spread of the virus.
Notwithstanding the Covid wards, hasn't this been broadly achieved e.g. A&E significantly less busy than normal?
So a gradual relaxation on the movement of people could now be manageable on the basis that more cars on the road = more accidents = more admissions but the NHS can cope? I use cars as an example accepting there are many ways of ending up in hospital
The point is if we wake up on a morning and live a 'normal' life we are exposed to all manner of risks. And this isn't ever going to change.
So by driving from my house or work to the fishery increases my potential for an accident , as does being on the bank. But I think this now under control from an NHS perspective?
But from a virus spreading perspective I would argue it's one of the safest places to be.
If angling gets the green light, I would imagine individual clubs & syndicates would still implement their own rules based on risk assessments & common sense?
In my own syndicate we could easily fish safely, quite honestly nothing would change as common courtesy and peg design dictates we are > 20m apart, normally 50-60 so we're not fishing for the same fish.
Push comes to shove we could limit anglers through a booking system on the forum or first come first served to ensure plenty of space.
Even on the bank , we tend to communicate by text or phone( getting a photo taken etc). Perhaps an odd catch up for 5 minutes but again easily achievable without getting too close. But on the whole, we go to relax and catch fish, so by definition we isolate.
The only places we need to be careful are gates and locks, and I think even now we're conditioned to sanitize. And how ironic will that be, scrubbing your hands after touching a gate, but eat a butty after handling slimy fish , maggots and worms. As an aside I will probably have to be careful here as I have never bothered being too sanitized when fishing on the basis that I must have a robust immune system after 40odd years of ingesting dirt and germs and not getting ill from it. All this hand sanitizing and no fishing( germs) could catch me out.
Commercial fisheries might be a bit more of a challenge with clubhouses/ cafes, but simply keep them closed until a later date.Or takeaways only?
Hands could be cleaned where nets are dipped?
Match fishing is another one that might need to be phased in due to drawing pegs etc.
I've never played Golf, but surely angling is considerably more isolated than Golf so I'm not even sure how they're being compared other than they are outside activities. We are much more akin to shooting in this context.
Personally I think we( river anglers) will be good-to-go by June. I think the Government will be looking for quick wins as they start to fathom a way out of the chaos, and angling is a pretty safe bet and they can make a lot of noise about it.
Who knows might be a good thing for the sport - we're always thinking of ways to attract new people?
