Nobody needs any more bad news related to COVID-19. But…

Due to the extraordinary circumstances we are living in for the foreseeable future, we in the Chicago Chapter ARS are cancelling the April and May meetings. With conditions changing daily, it’s just not sensible to make definite plans at present.  Given the drastic steps taken by so many other businesses and organizations, I don’t think we should do otherwise than cooperate. Covenant church has cancelled everything and closed its buildings until at least April.  Chicago Opera Theater and Lyric opera have cancelled the rest of their seasons, not to mention all the other closed businesses, schools, bars, restaurants, etc.  Certainly we can help fight the spread of this virus by waiting to play recorders in groups again, until it’s deemed safe to resume some semblance of public life.

I believe the biggest concern is unknowingly passing the virus on to someone else, before we even know we’re affected.  We all still need to go out to stores for supplies, some to work, so we’re all possibly being exposed at least occasionally. So the most socially responsible thing to do is keep our ‘social distance’ for now.

If things improve so much, so quickly, that we can get together sooner than next September, then we will happily send out a special invitation to meet and rejoice, just to play with a group again!