Following the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus, Pagan Phoenix Southwest are following the advice of Public Health England (PHE).
There is no immediate cause for concern, however, this is a fast-moving situation, so we are monitoring it closely.
PHE is encouraging people to take these simple actions to minimise the spread of viruses:
- Maintain good hand hygiene practices by washing hands regularly.
- Use tissues when coughing or sneezing, and disposing of them properly.
The advice from Public Health England is being updated daily at 2pm. You can follow these updates yourself on the GOV.uk website, which offers sensible and unbiased information to anyone who may be worried.
There is also more information on the NHS website here
Pagan Phoenix SW 
Hello there, I am sure I am not alone in thinking it may be a bad idea to attend this year, despite having bought my ticket (number 1) and booking a warm cosy B & B this year instead of a cold damp smelly chalet at Penstowe!!!! My friends advise me not to travel (I live in Hereford) so wondered what the real risk is in attending, I am aware the virus takes 5 days or so to appear in the host, who will be a carrier for that period of time, most people i pass in the street and at supermarkets are very careless with their coughing and sneezing etc., so would we be advised to postpone the conference until all this is clear? sorry to ask, i am sure you are having many queries of this nature, but we are close now to the day, and I am not sure what to do for the best, hope you can help, yours Amber
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Hello Amber,
As we have stated, Pagan Phoenix SW is following the advice of Public Health England (PHE). Currently, PHE is advising that people who have returned from certain affected areas since 19th February, ( or in the case of Hubei Province, China, within 14 days), should self isolate.
Enhanced health checks are in place at some airports for certain flights. Closure of schools, public places and small scale gatherings such as our Conference is not deemed necessary at present.
As of today, the conference is going ahead and this will remain the case unless the government orders postponement. The current health advice is very clear: small scale gatherings such as ours present no more risk than going about one’s daily activities and there is no need to panic. Of course, there will be sensible precautions in place and we will be asking people to follow the personal hygiene precautions as advised by PHE.
It is simply not possible for us to postpone the conference to a later date.
The latest total of 40 confirmed cases (as of 9 am on the 2nd March), in a total population of over 67 and a half million people should put this into perspective. For all but a very small minority of us, we are obliged to be in daily contact with people, whether at work, school, on public transport or simply walking down the street or going to the shop. People are advised to exercise caution if they have been in close contact (defined as within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes, living in the same house, or having contact with bodily fluids), of someone who has recently travelled from an affected area. As with all viruses, good hand washing hygiene is the most effective precaution, as all of us constantly touch our eyes, mouths and noses and therefore could infect ourselves with viruses which can live for a short time on certain surfaces.
Symptoms of coronavirus include fever, a dry cough and shortness of breath, not a runny nose and sneezing, so people displaying the latter symptoms are much more likely to be suffering from a cold or the onset of flu.
All of this advice is available from the NHS website and information on the PHE website is updated daily. We will continue to monitor and follow the advice of Public Health England and the NHS and would advise anyone who is concerned to do likewise.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at the weekend.
Blessings from the Pagan Phoenix team.
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