May 1, 2009, 1:29 pm — Updated: 5:21 pm –>
More Readers’ Questions About Swine Flu
By Roni Caryn Rabin
New York City Chess Tournament
Question:
My children are registered to play in a New York City-wide scholastic chess tournament this weekend. This draws children ages 5 to 18 years from many NYC schools. Scores of children play in one large room, sitting two to three feet apart, with no realistic chance for hand sanitation while the games are played. Given the flu situation in New York City, is it prudent to attend such an event?— Anonymous
Doctors acknowledge this is a tough question to answer. Kids have to go to school, but a chess tournament is a voluntary event. It’s up to parents to weigh the potential risks and benefits to their child and make a decision.
Answer:
Being in a crowd certainly increases the odds of picking up a viral infection, explained Dr. Anne Moscona of Weill Cornell Medical Center. But, she said, “I’d do it. Assuming your child has no medical conditions, the most reasonable option at this time would be to go, and exercise as much caution as possible with regular hand-washing. You might want to bring along a Purell dispenser.”
Source: http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com
Don´t go, to much the risk of a deadly virus… Maybe if everybody takes measures in a few weeks everything will be history and your child could play again, otherwise maybe will be a memory!
Interesting. Although I tend to think that the media hype about the swine flu is overblown, I think that one thing about chess tournaments that both the author and the doctor omitted is that the chess pieces themselves are probably the easiest way for the virus to be transmitted. Player A wipes her nose with her hand (not unusal among young kids) and then moves a piece. After the end of the game, Player B touches the piece when they are resetting the board. Then in the next round, Player C touches the piece and so on . . . There is only so much Purell in the world.
Have them play chess on the internet from home. Sorry I dont want my kids dead.
If the kids catch the flu they will give it to me. I do not want to be dead.
Sorry too serious a situation.