As of early March, concerns about coronavirus (COVID-19) seem to be casting a shadow over many ham-related activities. The FCC is banning all "non-critical" travel by staff members, both to domestic and foreign destinations - until further notice - and will not permit visitors into FCC facilities if they have been in a country experiencing widespread infections up to two weeks prior to their visits.
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Two DXpeditions have been
postponed due to protection measures. The planned W8S DXpedition to Swains Island
was put on hold, according to the ARRL
Letter, because American Samoa won't let
anyone into the country who has not first completed a 14-day quarantine in Hawaii. In addition, the
scheduled T30ET operation from Tarawa, West Kiribati,
has been postponed due to similar quarantine requirements. The W8S team has
tentatively rescheduled its operation for late September and early November.
Meanwhile, the Dayton
Hamvention®Executive Committee says it is keeping in close contact with state
and local health officials but, at this time, is not anticipating any impact from the virus on the Hamvention. The
committee notes that, as of early March, there were no confirmed COVIC-19 cases
anywhere in Ohio,
and that health officials say the current ris to the general public is very
low.
