[FOSDEM] Coronavirus

[Daniel Pocock]

On 20/02/2020 11:56, Jasper Nuyens wrote:
> Dear all,
> 
> 20 days have passed since Fosdem 2020, and nobody has reported to be
> hospitalised with a double pneumonia or as a confirmed COVID19
> carrier. Because of this, I think we can be relieved that FOSDEM was

Given the fact that so many people work remotely, we often never know
what is happening in the health or other parts of their life.  From time
to time a community publishes an obituary for somebody but there have
been (non-Coronavirus) cases where people passed away and it wasn't
noticed for some time.  Debian recently discovered[1] having over 101
developers with missing keys, nobody knows what has happened to some of
these people.  This is one of those challenging aspects of relationships
in remote online communities.

> early enough to have missed the pandemic spread of this virus and
> nobody got infected at this celebration of Freedom.
> 
> I tend to say that one is either too early or is too late to take
> preventive measures, luckily it turned out to be too early. I'm so
> happy to have been wrong!
> 
> As such, I want to apologise for spreading fear about the greatest
> OpenSource and Free Software event in the world. It seems that I owe
> you a beer - and I will provide that plentiful (as in free) at FOSDEM
> 2021!

Nobody thinks this was about spreading fear.  I had the impression you
raised the issue out of concern for the community and those we would
have come into contact with post-FOSDEM.

Incidentally, on the very same days it was discussed on the FOSDEM list,
the British super-spreader passed[2] through Geneva airport for the
second time.  A number of other people he infected in France also passed
through the airport as they returned to the UK and Spain.  Had I
traveled to Brussels that week, my path may well have crossed theirs as
Geneva is the closest airport from my home in Lausanne.  So I appreciate
your warning about this.

Regards,

Daniel


1. https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2019/12/msg00218.html
2.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10928686/coronavirus-businessman-super-spreader-easyjet/


--
Debian Developer
https://danielpocock.com