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Has Anyone Considered Disabling Caches Until the Virus Threat is Past


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On 3/17/2020 at 8:56 AM, thebruce0 said:

Yes this is another situation where a rule in one region may not apply the same in another. The spirit of the rule remains the same, but the application and reasoning may differ, so it can really bug people if one assumes your rules should apply worldwide. Pay attention to your local health authorities and obey them, that's your best course of action.

 

On 3/17/2020 at 7:07 AM, Goldenwattle said:

It might depend on the population density. In areas with low population density it would be easy to go out for exercise and keep a distance from other people; but not so in areas with high population density (at least in the cities). Many European cities have high population densities.

Good points! I hadn't considered that. Here, I could walk or geocache for hours and never see another person. 

Edited by Max and 99
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13 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

This is a great time to take care of that long-delayed maintenance run!  

I'll wear gloves while handling my caches, even though I have no symptoms of illness, so you can feel safe going for them  after I've done the maintenance.

 

You will wear gloves - to protect other geocachers from catching anything from you - and to protect you from anything that may be on the caches as you check logs, etc.  Do you plan to change gloves after each cache?  Couldn't you inadvertently spread the virus from cache to cache if you wear the same gloves?  That's one thing that puzzles me about gloves worn by checkout folks - are they to protect me, the consumer, or the checkout personnel?  Especially when those gloves handle the groceries that have been handled by how many dozens of different people?  They don't change gloves between customers!!

Edited by CAVinoGal
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On 3/17/2020 at 10:33 AM, RobinsonClan56 said:

We carry baby wipes, but I also have a suds pump (I got mine from Pampered Chef but I am sure others make them).  You fill it partially with regular antibacterial hand soap and then to the indicator line with water.  It allows a quick hand-wash without the need for running water.  Just pump out the foam, rub your hands together, and dry them with a paper towel/napkin.

 

Yes !  We've carried No Rinse soap for years hiking.  Shampoo too.    :)

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6 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I don't like seeing a CO threaten to delete "signed logs" for caches disabled during the pandemic. 

 


Ordinarily, I’d agree - I’m sure I’ve backed the finder over the CO in previous threads. I’d have said that if the cache is in place, and the finder has put their name on the log, then fair play: a find is a find.  If the CO didn’t want the cache found, they should have removed it.

 

But things aren’t ordinary.  We’re on lockdown in the UK now.  Some are still arguing that caching can be considered allowable exercise, but I think that’s rubbish - caching is no way an essential activity.

 

So now COs are disabling caches in an attempt to stop people from ignoring the advice designed to protect our nation.  And they can’t collect the caches without flouting those same rules.

 

It may be that HQ will still support the finder, but I’d like to see those that appeal called out on their actions.

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3 minutes ago, IceColdUK said:

But things aren’t ordinary.  We’re on lockdown in the UK now.  Some are still arguing that caching can be considered allowable exercise, but I think that’s rubbish - caching is no way an essential activity.

 

We're in lockdown but encouraged to exercise. No driving but walking and biking is OK but only with people living under the same roof, others have to keep a distance. There's no difference in walking a route and walking the same route and stopping at waypoints and/or caches. The problem is that as time goes by we're going to run out of caches close enough to get to on foot or by bike.

The strange thing is that bike and walking paths are a lot busier now than during "normal" times. It looks like people are getting outside more.

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Reviewers are still publishing new caches in Nor. Calif. - 36 within 20 miles's' of me in the last 10 days.  One was a puzzle of mine, one a traditional of hubby's.  Both of those are along local walking/biking trails which folks are using to get out and exercise (and as of today, that is still encouraged - get some sunshine and fresh air and excercise, just keep your distance!)  The FTF on hubby's said he was "violating" the shelter in place rules, but he really wasn't since, at this point, we CAN get out and walk!  And publishing new caches along trails gives us geocachers places to go and things to do!

 

All events have been wiped from the calendar, but caches are still being published....

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4 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

Some are still arguing that caching can be considered allowable exercise, but I think that’s rubbish - caching is no way an essential activity.

 

That's odd,  I bet there's plenty of examples of how this hobby has helped people get fit,  lose weight,  or beat pre-diabetes in a simple search.

Maybe it'd be an issue on urban hides, where folks are already too close together.  

Here, our  governor "ordered" folks to "stay at home" , yet they're allowed to leave for things needed.  An order that means nada...

On the TV is a lot of examples of people who are "experiencing the outdoors" responsibly,  most with little time to do so before this virus.

There are "around the block" groups formed now, chatting in their allowed distance from each other, and the "spin class" crowd are riding real bikes.   :)

 

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8 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I don't like seeing a CO threaten to delete "signed logs" for caches disabled during the pandemic. 

 

 

I saw that here one CO did that as I was planning on going for that cache and had it in a separate list and trail looks fairly unused as it is. I may still do this and document my find. ;) 

 

Funny thing is the county parks are more crowded than ever as is neighborhood walkers. Social Distancing in effect, even on narrow trails. I read the proclamation somewhere and it specifically mentions exercise being one of the reasons to go outside but to be safe at the same time. So unless the rules change, and they may lets hope not, I think it should be the responsibly of the finder not the CO or GS, now that liability waiver might get a new addition. I am personally avoiding urban areas, and spent the time in suburban and natural areas.

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6 hours ago, cerberus1 said:
11 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

Some are still arguing that caching can be considered allowable exercise, but I think that’s rubbish - caching is no way an essential activity.

 

That's odd,  I bet there's plenty of examples of how this hobby has helped people get fit,  lose weight,  or beat pre-diabetes in a simple search.

 

Absolutely no doubt that Geocaching has helped people get exercise, but I don't think it *is* exercise, and it's certainly not an essential activity.  The rules here in the UK are tightening by the day because people aren't taking the advice seriously.

 

90239014_10158345309256458_1626308638148657152_n.jpg

Edited by IceColdUK
Too, many, commas.
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11 hours ago, on4bam said:

 

We're in lockdown but encouraged to exercise. No driving but walking and biking is OK but only with people living under the same roof, others have to keep a distance. There's no difference in walking a route and walking the same route and stopping at waypoints and/or caches. The problem is that as time goes by we're going to run out of caches close enough to get to on foot or by bike.

The strange thing is that bike and walking paths are a lot busier now than during "normal" times. It looks like people are getting outside more.

 

All similar in the UK.  Sure, if someone local happens to be walking past one of my caches as part of their essential daily exercise, I guess that's ok, though I still say that digging around in bushes looking for Tupperware goes well beyond what out government had in mind when encouraging exercise.  The trouble is, others see that caches are still being found and start stretching it - why not drive out to somewhere for some essential exercise ... that just happens to pass a few more caches?!

 

I haven't disabled my caches yet - most are found pretty infrequently anyway - but if I see logs coming in, I may.  Not because it will prevent people finding them, but just to send out a message to do the right thing.

 

Stay safe, everyone.

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11 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

If a park is closed at night, should the CO disable every night, and re-enable every morning?

 

Of course not, but caches can certainly be disabled for a few months due to seasonal conditions - the cache may well still be in place, but the CO is advising people that they'd be foolish to attempt it under those conditions.

 

This seems a pretty similar scenario, except that the danger is not just to the cacher but to the wider community.

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1 minute ago, IceColdUK said:

 The trouble is, others see that caches are still being found and start stretching it - why not drive out to somewhere for some essential exercise ... that just happens to pass a few more caches?!

 

Not easy here. Cars are stopped by police asking where you're going and why. Parking near woods/nature reserves are patrolled too and people driving there are send back too "go walk in your own neighborhood".

One silly thing I've read, fishing is not allowed it seems. Someone sitting alone near a pond, no-one else around, was told to leave...

There is some misunderstanding sometimes as one official says something and another says something else. That has been the case a few times.

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Exercise is important, caching isn't, fun yes, but not essential. Handling caches may prove a risk to others as well as yourself, it may not, but why take a chance? it is no longer a matter of keeping yourself safe and healthy it’s about keeping everyone. Your actions today could impact someone down the line. 
 

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57 minutes ago, on4bam said:

Not easy here. Cars are stopped by police asking where you're going and why. Parking near woods/nature reserves are patrolled too and people driving there are send back too "go walk in your own neighborhood".

That's sad to hear, since it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

Here (in Bavaria) we have restrictions very similar to Belgium. I.e., primarily stay at home, but you're allowed to go out for "essential things" (shopping for groceries, going to the doctor's, etc.) but also "go out for sports and recreation alone or with people living in your household". Ok, so that's what I did with my son yesterday. This is what we experienced...

First, we were is a local park / small wood within the city limits (I'm in Munich). It was not crowded, but every now and then we passed other people walking / jogging / biking. In general, everyone behaved well, keeping the 2m distance by stepping aside to the edge of the path or even off it. But still, we were not feeling "alone" there.

Later, we drove out a bit, stopped at a parking lot near a bigger forest outside town, and again went for a walk. We only saw a single group of people, a family with two kids, and they were 50 meters away because they had just taken a path going off from ours. Otherwise, we were really alone there.

So, from the standpoint of "social distancing" in a crowded city like Munich, I think it's better for the case at hand if the people who have the means (i.e., a car), drive out a bit into rural areas instead of further populating the municipal streets and parks. In my view the imperative should not be "STAY AT HOME!" but "STAY ALONE!". Just my two cents, and I'm neither a virologist nor a politician ;) .

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The official stance in New York is to go outside, alone, and get some sun and fresh air. All State Parks in New York have waived entrance fees. There are guidelines of course, but at least currently, New York realizes that its just as unhealthy to be locked away inside. I know California has closed parks and beaches, but that is because they are being overcrowded by people. 

I don't agree with the stance of disabling caches though (not including events). If there are mandates to not go outside or not go to a particular park, disabling a cache isn't going to discourage someone from caching if they are so inclined. Unless you physically remove the cache, those people that are going to break the rules can still find the cache. 

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2 minutes ago, igator210 said:

The official stance in New York is to go outside, alone, and get some sun and fresh air. All State Parks in New York have waived entrance fees. There are guidelines of course, but at least currently, New York realizes that its just as unhealthy to be locked away inside. I know California has closed parks and beaches, but that is because they are being overcrowded by people. 

I don't agree with the stance of disabling caches though (not including events). If there are mandates to not go outside or not go to a particular park, disabling a cache isn't going to discourage someone from caching if they are so inclined. Unless you physically remove the cache, those people that are going to break the rules can still find the cache. 

 

Someone posted a note on one of my caches indicating that they didn't find it (I don't know why they didn't post a DNF).  The two previous logs were found its, but it had a couple of dnf logs before that.  I think that it may have moved, which is unfortunate because it uses a unique container and the hiding spot, container, cache description and name are all thematically related.  I can disable the cache, but it may be awhile before I can or want to go check on it.   

 

Although getting outside, alone, and getting some exercise is still encouraged, getting in your car and driving somewhere to exercises is not.   Although how it may be enforced isn't very clear non-essential travel in NY state is banned.  We have a house about an hour and 45 minutes from our primary residence that I would love to be able stay at while working from home but I wouldn't want to get stuck (primarily because our pantry is much less well stocked there)  there if the travel ban escalates.  

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1 hour ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

We have a house about an hour and 45 minutes from our primary residence that I would love to be able stay at while working from home but I wouldn't want to get stuck (primarily because our pantry is much less well stocked there)  there if the travel ban escalates.  

 

Here it isn't allowed. People who have a second residence at the coast were send back at roadblocks.

 

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39 minutes ago, on4bam said:

Here it isn't allowed. People who have a second residence at the coast were send back at roadblocks.

 

Here, we weren't quick enough to realize the issue...

Folks from a city  in another state (one of two hotspots in the US)  headed for their "vacation homes" here, and now our county's apparently going to be the largest (in cases) in our NE zone.

My sister went looking for basic foods for my mother, and the pics of cars in the parking lots were mostly out of state.

I've stocked basics for years,  so at least everyone in my family has TP and other paper products available.  

 

Edited by cerberus1
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7 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

Absolutely no doubt that Geocaching has helped people get exercise, but I don't think it *is* exercise, and it's certainly not an essential activity. 

The rules here in the UK are tightening by the day because people aren't taking the advice seriously.

 

I'm in the house right now, but my cardiologist would disagree that walking isn't exercise.      :)

Most in the health field advise walking for cardio-vascular health, strengthening the heart and lungs.

Like Outside says, "Here's the secret to a long life:  keep moving "      ;)

 

ETA... I did take a walk at the park our first hide's in early this morning.  Furthest I can go for now.

 

Edited by cerberus1
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With Wisconsin implementing a "Safer at Home" order on Wednesday, March 25th thru April 24th, I will probably disable all my caches and suspend my geocaching until the order is lifted. I'm not particularly concerned with the virus spreading by people handling the container/contents, but this order is trying to discourage all unnecessary travel.

 

Most of my caches are hidden in rural locations/state trails. Getting outside for exercise (walking/running/biking) is still very much encouraged and while I would love to think someone would be willing to still bike/walk/run to get near my caches, I know that most people would drive. So, disabling my caches is a small part in helping to discourage unnecessary travel. 

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36 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

I'm in the house right now, but my cardiologist would disagree that walking isn't exercise.      :)

Most in the health field advise walking for cardio-vascular health, strengthening the heart and lungs.

 

Of course walking is exercise, but I don’t think searching for pots is.


I walk to the pub (well, I used to!) but I don’t consider drinking a pint to be exercise either.

 

36 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

Like Outside says, "Here's the secret to a long life:  keep moving "      ;)


And this pretty much reinforces the point.  Exercise.  Keep moving.  Let’s forget about the pots for the time being.  They’ll still be here when this is all over.

 

36 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

ETA... I did take a walk at the park our first hide's in early this morning.  Furthest I can go for now.


Excellent.  ?

Edited by IceColdUK
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16 hours ago, TriciaG said:

Ontario reviewers have stopped publishing new caches until further notice:

https://wiki.Groundspeak.com/display/GEO/Ontario

 

Thumbs up to our Ontario reviewers. The Maintenance section of the announcement is thoughtful, helpful, and well-written. I especially think the section that begins... "positive aspects of cache maintenance that can be performed, without leaving the house."  It is an informative reminder of ways to maintain a cache listing, and how to properly log an OM.

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6 minutes ago, L0ne.R said:

 

Thumbs up to our Ontario reviewers. The Maintenance section of the announcement is thoughtful, helpful, and well-written. I especially think the section that begins... "positive aspects of cache maintenance that can be performed, without leaving the house."  It is an informative reminder of ways to maintain a cache listing, and how to properly log an OM.

Yeah good job from the Ontario reviewers on their regional wiki because in Quebec and Nova Scotia we don't even have a regional wiki at all. I don't understand why Groundspeak doesn't put it mandatory.

 

I have disabled my caches in forbidden area but some people in Nova Scotia went a step farther and disabled them all even if we don't have case of COVID outside of those that went out of province travel.

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1 hour ago, IceColdUK said:

Of course walking is exercise, but I don’t think searching for pots is.

I walk to the pub (well, I used to!) but I don’t consider drinking a pint to be exercise either.

 

And this pretty much reinforces the point.  Exercise.  Keep moving.  Let’s forget about the pots for the time being.  They’ll still be here when this is all over.

 

No offense, but I feel you're missing the point.    Who cares what folks are doing while walking, as long as they're getting exercise.    :)

Some folks like to take pics,  for some it's a fun time to chat with a friend,  parents know a frog may take away from "family time", but they're walking.

I have a friend who has shooting stations along a trail on his property.  We walk together sometimes, and a rare chance for me to take out the old colts.

It's about a mile walk when done.    Most of us are capable of doing "other things" while walking...

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The area of west TX in which I'm located is very "trendy" with New York citizens for some odd reason. The local paper has reported that the county government has requested persons traveling from New York state within the last two weeks self-isolate for an additional two weeks. If a county government can trust people to self-isolate for two weeks I'll trust them to "self-disable" my caches for the same time period.

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9 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

Kinda off-topic, but anyone who doesn't feel they should get exercise, fresh air, and sunlight right now, my doc told me folks might benefit by vitamin D.

I'm taking D3.    :)

Thanks for the offer but I'm good, checked caches earlier today and sunburned legs, two bloody knees plus an elbow should get me by. :)

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2 hours ago, Lynx Humble said:

Yeah good job from the Ontario reviewers on their regional wiki because in Quebec and Nova Scotia we don't even have a regional wiki at all. I don't understand why Groundspeak doesn't put it mandatory.

 

I have disabled my caches in forbidden area but some people in Nova Scotia went a step farther and disabled them all even if we don't have case of COVID outside of those that went out of province travel.

 

I bet a lot of geocachers don't even know that Groundspeak *has* a wiki:  https://wiki.Groundspeak.com/display/GEO/Home

 

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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

 

No offense, but I feel you're missing the point.    Who cares what folks are doing while walking, as long as they're getting exercise.    :)

Some folks like to take pics,  for some it's a fun time to chat with a friend,  parents know a frog may take away from "family time", but they're walking.

I have a friend who has shooting stations along a trail on his property.  We walk together sometimes, and a rare chance for me to take out the old colts.

It's about a mile walk when done.    Most of us are capable of doing "other things" while walking...

 

No offence taken and I hope none given!

 

All that you describe is fine for 'normal' times, but times aren't normal.  In theory, stopping the spread of the disease is easy - if everybody stayed at home for the next couple of months, the spread would stop.  We might starve to death, waste away from lack of exercise, or go mad from boredom, but we'd stop Covid-19 (for a while).  Leaving the house, for whatever reason, increases the risk, to some extent, of further spread.  Our mindset should be: how can I personally reduce this risk to the absolute minimum ... without starving, wasting away or going mad.

 

Here, in the UK at least, it seems that too many people are in the mindset of: what can I get away with under the current guidelines?  I think the intention of the advice is pretty clear: only leave home for essential activities.  So back to the exercise / caching conundrum.  If I can get the same outdoor exercise in 45 minutes, that would take an hour if I stopped to look for a few caches, then I've reduced my chance of exposure (or passing on whatever I may have) by 25%.  If you consider the added risk of contamination from the search and the cache itself, then maybe more.  If we all do that, the numbers soon mount up.

 

(Not a scientist!)

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Disable them globally, or disabling our own caches individually?  The individual disabling his or her own is totally up to them, but in my opinion, unnecessary.  I feel that, for a lot of caches, once the locals gobble them up, it's the travelers, and if the travelers are cut down, naturally, find rates are going to drop.  The decrease in trackables, at least in my neck of the woods, I simply am finding way less of them in the wild than I did in the past.  The few I have, I'm not even sure if they are still active, as I think I stopped getting emails about them a while ago.  For example, while we aren't under a state-wide "stay at home" with outdoor activities still allowed provided we do social distancing (state Department of Health ruling for the counties that are "stay at home", not me), my planned weekend trips to cache-rich zones were scrapped.  Me getting one a day, driving at most, an hour away (my typical commuting distance, since I'm essential), I feel is a fair compromise between restricting travel, and taking part in a safer outdoor activity since, although we're touching an object, we're also participating in an activity that few people in our respective areas take part in. 

 

Pretty much the way I figure, up to the individual cacher if they want to risk it or not.  For me, bottle of hand sanitizer in the car is good enough if I find the cache was found recently.  If it was a week or more, no way a virus lasts that long without a human host, so I can save the squirt until I either get home or the gas station, if required, then a hand washing like normal.  Extra gooey, I make a decision.  Gloves are also a possibility.  End of the day, the trees don't carry COVID-19, so just leaving our house isn't hurting anyone - it's leaving our homes because we're not caching, and instead congregating at the local department store in line for up to an hour, all in close quarters.  Simply practice hygienic caching techniques, and you should be fine.  If you still aren't comfortable caching, by all means, stay home.  But a global disabling of all caches for a hobby that, in and of itself, is designed for social distancing, in my opinion, is overkill.

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46 minutes ago, fizzymagic said:

 

That's pretty obvious.

 

Your logic is incorrect.  The probability of passing on or catching is not linear in time, so whether the exercise takes 45 minutes or an hour makes no difference.  What does make a difference is interaction with other people, and (maybe) touching caches that were touched by others.

And the whole "little bits add up" thing is likewise nonsensical.

 

Treating the whole thing like a vacation opportunity is wrong.  Treating it as if there were Death lurking outside every second you are not in your house is likewise wrong.  As someone who is a scientist and an expert on statistics, the best advice I have for everyone is to try to ignore the vast majority of what the talking heads on TV say, but still take the situation seriously.

Hear, hear. I'm not a scientist or an expert on statistics but the numbers I've collected as a neophyte don't match what the media is reporting. I would propose anyone posting in this thread cite the source of their data to avoid it becoming an extension of a twitter, face-thing, rumor.

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15 minutes ago, 31BMSG said:

Hear, hear. I'm not a scientist or an expert on statistics but the numbers I've collected as a neophyte don't match what the media is reporting. I would propose anyone posting in this thread cite the source of their data to avoid it becoming an extension of a twitter, face-thing, rumor.

 

Read this: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56 - you don't have to be a scientist to understand the message. Social distancing is the basic intervention, the hammer by which we can suppress the spread of the virus to a manageable level. To be effective, social interaction with others has to be reduced to the bare minimum. We need to stay at or near our homes and shouldn't leave our home area for unnecessary travel. For recreation, go to the nearest park or other recreational public space. 

 

I have disabled all my caches for the time being. It's unlikely that someone would get infected by touching the containers. But I wanted to set an example of how to practice social distancing and reduce unnecessary travel. I don't want my caches to be a temptation for people to ignore public health advice or government ban. I leave it to the judgement of individual COs whether to disable their caches or not. As a health professional, I believe it was the right thing to do.

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Yes, I did consider disabling my caches until the virus threat is past.

I considered this while on an interstate trip (gasp!) to my little cottage in The Middle of Nowhere, where there were no reported cases of covid-19 in the entire state at the time of my travel.  I was accompanied by my daughter, who is immune-compromised.  I wore disposable gloves when refueling and we both wore disposable gloves when using the restroom - one stop in each direction.  I chose for us to not hunt for any caches along the way or during our stay, and brought with us all supplies, including groceries and TP (though I wish I'd brought the remaining TP home; fie on you TP hoarders, wherever you are).  As I suspected would happen, the nearby town that hosts a major university - on Spring Break at the time of our visit - announced a first case that exploded to several more the day of our departure.  That set me up for thinking about my own caches at home.

 

Like many have mentioned, most local cachers have found my caches, so the visits have dropped considerably anyway, with a few traveling cachers finding them on their quest to fill in counties.  In addition, our area has not had any reported cases of covid-19.  On one side, I can buy that because, well, seriously nobody comes here unless there's a NASCAR race.  Fan attendance has been cancelled for that.  On the other side, the testing is so restricted that unless you're almost dying and need hospitalization, you won't meet the criteria for testing ... leaving a big question mark about whether there are cases or not.

 

After considering all these factors, including my misgivings about hunting caches while traveling, I decided that I would NOT disable my caches.

 

I'm going to take this opportunity to spiff up my caches (look, we're not in a highly-, very-, or even somewhat-populated area), using the disposable gloves that I always keep  at hand anyway - and spraying down the cache with Clorox, which I always have on hand at home anyway.  I haven't decided whether I will mention this activity or not.  Whether it will make a difference I don't know.

 

Of note

This area in my state has no reported cases of covid-19 (as of this writing). 

I am a solo cacher. 

In my area, getting out to most caches would not involve a consideration of others' proximity to me. 

Often, my mental health depends on being able to go hunt caches.  That may seem weird to some, unless they've experienced the cabin fever of 24/7 caregiving. 

I do appreciate that protecting others will protect yourself, and the wish to remove the draw of an unfound cache, but I do not want to extinguish an outlet for others needing an escape from the tedium of isolation - which can actually come at any time, not just now.

 

On a somewhat unrelated note, I simply signed in to see if the folks I regularly see posting were still doing so.  Seems to be.  YAY!

Ya'll stay healthy, ya hear?

 

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3 hours ago, icabrian said:

 

Read this: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56 - you don't have to be a scientist to understand the message. Social distancing is the basic intervention, the hammer by which we can suppress the spread of the virus to a manageable level. To be effective, social interaction with others has to be reduced to the bare minimum. We need to stay at or near our homes and shouldn't leave our home area for unnecessary travel. For recreation, go to the nearest park or other recreational public space. 

 

I have disabled all my caches for the time being. It's unlikely that someone would get infected by touching the containers. But I wanted to set an example of how to practice social distancing and reduce unnecessary travel. I don't want my caches to be a temptation for people to ignore public health advice or government ban. I leave it to the judgement of individual COs whether to disable their caches or not. As a health professional, I believe it was the right thing to do.

I apologize, I made an attempt to respond but apparently my internet access failed. The link you provided provides a good synopsis of numbers interpreted by the person(s) that published the web page but includes no other specific citations, I was expecting a tad bit more, like cited raw numbers instead of another opinion, thanks!

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17 hours ago, on4bam said:

 

Not easy here. Cars are stopped by police asking where you're going and why. Parking near woods/nature reserves are patrolled too and people driving there are send back too "go walk in your own neighborhood".

One silly thing I've read, fishing is not allowed it seems. Someone sitting alone near a pond, no-one else around, was told to leave...

There is some misunderstanding sometimes as one official says something and another says something else. That has been the case a few times.

Strange how different things can be.  Locally, they have temporarily suspended the need for a fishing license during these times so that people have something to do out of the house that keeps them better isolated from others.

 

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58 minutes ago, K13 said:

I find it almost laughable that people are disabling geocaches during this pandemic.  Unless you get out and remove the geocache container when you disable it, you are not going to stop another person from finding it.  Most governing bodies are allowing or even encouraging people to get out for exercise.  Walking/jogging/biking are cited examples of personal outdoor exercise, and geocachers who want the exercise WILL go out and find geocaches - whether disabled or active. 

Whew! Glad you guys stepped in, I was about out of BS for the BS. Wash your hands, wash behind your ears, say Ma'am to a lady, and taking your hat off inside will help you on your way to the best caches. 

Edited by 31BMSG
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15 minutes ago, ecanderson said:

Strange how different things can be.  Locally, they have temporarily suspended the need for a fishing license during these times so that people have something to do out of the house that keeps them better isolated from others.

 

That's a great idea! Nice of them to do that. We are being encouraged to enjoy the outdoors but practice social distancing! Unless you are sick or have health issues, then stay home. 

Edited by Max and 99
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1 hour ago, 31BMSG said:

I apologize, I made an attempt to respond but apparently my internet access failed. The link you provided provides a good synopsis of numbers interpreted by the person(s) that published the web page but includes no other specific citations, I was expecting a tad bit more, like cited raw numbers instead of another opinion, thanks!

 

Try https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

it’s basically the first thing that googles up if you look for statistics. You could have found it easily yourself if you wanted.

 

Check out the chart of world deaths. Check out the trajectory of that chart. Ask yourself what the ceiling is. Well, nobody knows, but it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to look at that trajectory and start wondering.

 

The news is already reporting healthcare systems being overwhelmed to the point where not everyone can receive the healthcare they need. That’s the truly scary part in all this and it is the justification for lockdown.

 

I’m not trying to spread panic but honestly, as a hospitalist who is already seeing this unfold with my own eyes (and we are barely getting started), I hope people will take this more seriously.

 

As to disabling caches, personally I’m not going to, as mine are low traffic or else out of the urban area anyway, but I can respect others doing it as a way to send a message about the seriousness of sheltering where you are.

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