Tuesday 17 March 2020

Cancelling meetings

and events took up most of yesterday.
I spent the morning trying to make sure all my students have the correct email and that, should they email me, the message gets through. (I am still trying to work out why my email address allows some messages through and not others - even when the individual is in my contacts list.)  As it turns out some of them can't so I have to get some help and resurrect an old email address in Outlook to see if they can do that. 
Most of these students are undergraduates who just need help with the English language. I am not sure I am the best person to do this but they seem to like me to do it. Some of them are struggling to do assignments on line. I don't always have access to the materials they are using and that can cause delays and confusion. When we meet face to face I can look at their screen and see exactly what they are using and talking about.
I cancelled meetings. Too many of the people I work with in other ways have compromised health. It is better if we don't meet. 
And that doesn't even take into account the need to keep the Senior Cat out of harm's way if at all possible. Middle Cat has cancelled his dental appointment. (It means going into the city by access cab.) It's a check up rather than for anything urgent. I have, reluctantly, decided I had best keep mine for tomorrow. Other medical appointments for him will be decided on a case by case degree of urgency.
I was about to send a message saying I would not be attending meetings of a knitting group for the foreseeable future when a message came through saying they had cancelled meetings. That was on medical advice. As I had been hoping my message would cause them to consider doing that it was a relief to know that they had already done something about it.
I went into the library and said I thought we should cancel knitting there. They had already cancelled "Storytime" for the babies and toddlers. I went to the bookshop and spoke to A.... who said it was up to us but she agreed it was probably not wise for now. I came home and sent more messages out.
I was planning on doing a hand out for Saturday's meeting. I will now rewrite it and send it on to two people who can disseminate the information more easily than I can.
I am due to go to a very small group on Friday morning. They are mostly elderly and very unlikely to have been in contact with anyone who is infected. Take the risk? I can let the organiser know the night before not to pick me up. I am not actually talking to the group. They just want to let me see what they have been doing. It could wait.
I have to sort out some more distance teaching today and reorganise what I expected students to do as they cannot go into their places of learning. It is all difficult and frustrating and time consuming.
The authorities in China have a lot to answer for right now.
 

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