FIDE delegates read this!
The Pandemic is Accelerating
While the projected mortality rate is relatively low — around 2.5% — what makes coronavirus so different is that it is expected to infect between 40% to 70% of the world’s total population.
You do the math…it is a staggeringly large number that is difficult to get your head around! This is not something that you will just read about on the TV news that happens to other people in other countries. We will all experience this personally.
In just a few days an Extraordinary FIDE Congress will begin in the UAE. This was planned many months ago, before the present coronavirus crisis.
FIDE has not yet posted anything about the related health risks, uncertainties or complications on any of its official websites about the coronavirus. The only related notification concerns the Candidates Tournament in March.
The UAE is a safe country to travel to, as safe as any other I guess. BUT, bear in mind that as of Thursday the UAE had a total of 9 coronavirus confirmations, a number that had been virtually unchanged for several weeks.
But on Friday they confirmed another 2 cases, bringing the total to 11. Today they confirmed yet another 2 cases, bringing the total to 13.
I suggest it is in your best interests to monitor the situation as it develops by the hour before you get on the plane to the FIDE Congress. Don’t trust the FIDE leadership to make YOUR decisions for you, they have different agendas and different priorities.
