Over the past few weeks, the rapid increase in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID have had to force a rethink to the types of modifications to our general activities, including physical training. Unfortunately, the current COVID situation has again forced us to reinstate restrictions on the way that we will be able to conduct our training for the next few weeks and possibly months. This includes gyms and other indoor activities.

The Queensland Government has mandated that masks need to be worn for all indoor activities save when you are engaging in strenuous physical activity as an attempt to navigate a risk minimisation strategy that allows us to go about things as normally as possible while protecting vulnerable members of the community as much as possible.

This still leaves a gap in how we as a Club and in individual disciplines best manage this risk. In part this is up to the individual disciplines to implement. However there are some Club wide strategies that we will have to abide by.

I do not want to get into an extended discussion around the pros and cons of various public health strategies. However it is important to note the following:

• The Omicron variant, while the indication is that its presentation is much less severe that earlier variants is many times more infectious. This means that the law of large number is in play. In other words, the sheer numbers of people that get infected will result in an absolute number of people badly affected still has the potential to place significant strain on health services.

• Currently we have at least three Club members working at the Toowoomba Hospital, and between us we could potentially be in contact with almost every area across both the Base Hospital and Toowoomba North campus. We also have some members of the Club community that experience a larger risk of complications from a COVID infection

• Vaccines (and boosters) provide only partial cover from infection, or indeed being infectious to others. However, they form our best first line of defence to slow the rate of infection and to reduce its severity.

• Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) do run the risk of false negatives where people are asymptomatic. However, they provide the best method we have of quickly detecting someone being COVID positive and hence shaving off the percentage chance of a “super spreader” event .

As a Club, I want us to do everything reasonable that we can to shave the percentages, and give us the best chance to lower the risk of having a “super-spreader” event happen at the Club. The balance is to try and have training normal as much as we can while being sensitive to unnecessary risk. This is covered by the Club’s existing COVID plan, and so much of what we will be doing is already familiar to most of you. This will include reinstating the mask wearing rule for any time you are inside the CBRC and not engaging in strenuous physical activity (Government directive). We will also be observing social distancing where appropriate, especially when setting up our training equipment. Additionally, there will be discipline-specific modifications to practice that will be communicated via the normal chat channels.

There will be one significant change to the plan originally written last year before the availability of vaccines or Rapid Antigen Tests. Specifically:

• In addition to being asymptomatic of any COVID-related symptoms, you must be either fully vaccinated (including the booster if you are eligible) OR you have returned a negative COVID Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) up to 6 hours prior to coming to the dojo.

We are aware of the discomfort that this may cause some of you. Everyone has the right to choose whether to get vaccinated or not. By offering an exemption by doing a RAT, we hope to assure you that what we are doing is a risk reduction strategy rather than be forced to go back to online-only training.

I also want to note that integrity is a core value of the Club. We are not in the business of “checking your green ticks” or demanding to see your RAT. We all know hat the determined person can find their way around those sort of things. We are expecting that you do the right thing. If you have any concerns, please talk with your discipline coordinators.