Article: 12 Hours of Sebring Concerns UPDATED
by: Mandy L
UPDATE: I just saw the 12 hours of Sebring have been postponed. So thankful to see Sebring is putting their citizens first. Stay safe everyone.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I have not heard anything about the races being postponed or canceled. However, a lot of major events are being canceled and postponed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The races bring in international drivers as well as visitors from all over the country to our small town. Florida itself is having a number of new cases pop up daily (mostly due to travel). With so many people traveling to our city and many of our locals attending the races it has the potential to become a hotspot for the spread of the virus.
We are a city with a high populations of retirees the group that suffers the highest mortality rate from the coronavirus. If it were to spread here, are our hospitals prepared to take on a quick influx of patients? Do they have enough beds let alone enough ventilators?
NASCAR, IMSA and ARCA stated last week they were monitoring the situation but no plans to postpone or cancel. In Austin, Texas due to the concern for their citizens - Austin, Texas has postponed the MotoGP races until novemer and their SxSW music fest. Many tech companies have also postponed and canceled large conferences.
Below is a statement from the CDC
Before a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in your community: Plan
A COVID-19 outbreak could last for a long time. Depending on the severity of the outbreak, public health officials may recommend community actions designed to limit exposure to COVID-19. Officials may ask you to modify, postpone, or cancel large events for the safety and well-being of your event staff, participants, and the community. The details of your emergency operations plan should be based on the size and duration of your events, demographics of the participants, complexity of your event operations, and type of on-site services and activities your event may offer.
Here are two articles that discuss flattening the curve with protective measures
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/science/coronavirus-curve-mitigation-infection.html
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171481/coronavirus-us-cases-quarantine-cancellation
People keep compairing this to the flu but that is an incorrect comparision. They say the flu has a .1% mortality rate and this has a 3.4% (up to 6%) mortality rate. Which means 1 out of 1,000 may die from the flu but 3 out of 100 (up to 6 out of 100) die from coronavirus. The 6% statistic is from the cases with outcomes. So of the ones who have recovered or died 6% have died. Scarey statistics - even at the 3.4%.
I have lived in Sebring a long time as do my parents and grandparents and we are all concerned as are many of our friends. I know there are also many people that seem to not care. However, I would like to know what is being done to protect the citizens of this city and county?
Comments
Please Login or Join To Post a Comment
Nancy A 4 Years ago Reply
Thanks for sharing this information. I am also concerned seeing as how my husband and I fall in the age group with the worst outcomes. He has underlying conditions as well so we have been heeding the advice of the cdc and staying in. We don't need it to spread here and all it takes is one person in a large crowd to get it started.
Harper N 4 Years ago Reply
I'm worried about having that many people here too. They keep saying practice social distancing. That doesn't seem possible at a large event. I'm not going to the races but I know a lot of people that are.
Mandy L 4 Years ago Reply
I just read that the sebring 1000 was canceled but not the 12 hours. I hope they do the right thing and cancel the 12 hours of Sebring too!